Violets, Braids, and Space Pirates
by NightSeer
Summary: One day a star fell to Earth and Heero's life was never the same. Eventual 1x2x1
1. Chapter One

**Violets, Braids, and Space Pirates**

Disclaimer: I don't own GW, Tenchi Muyo, or the random character/planet from Outlaw Star.

Warnings: slash, het, fluff, angst, violence (eventually), stupidity, foul language, occasional Relena bashing, and my weird attempts at humor.

Rating: R for swearing and violence

Pairings: eventually 1x2x1. possibly 3x4x3, eventual 5x? and Rx?

****

**Chapter One: Memories and Meetings **

It was a quiet spring day at the Yuy household, almost too quiet for Heero. Over the past six months he had gotten used to the fights, explosions, and the occasional glomping by one of his affectionate housemates. But they were gone now and the house was quiet once more. He hated to admit it but he missed them. He even missed the fights between the baka and the pink menace, although it was nice to longer need to dive for cover when the two fought. It didn't help that every morning he saw Hilde's African Violet in that horrible pink pot sitting on the kitchen table.

To Heero that plant was a living reminder of Duo and Relena. At first glance the colors of the deep purple flowers and the pale pink base clashed. But after looking at it a while it just seemed to work; just like their fiery friendship. Fiery was a good description of that relationship, especially since fighting, explosions, and competition was their idea of communication.

Heero looked up from studying the plant and realized he was late. He quickly threw his dishes in the sink and grabbed his school bag. As he left he yelled his goodbyes to his father and grandfather. Running out the gate and down the hillside towards the stairs of the shrine he almost expected to hear Hilde running after him with his lunch or to see Yagami take off from the lake. Unfortunately none of this happened. It had been two weeks since his vacation from normalcy had ended and he missed it. As he reached the halfway point on the stairs he stopped out of habit. For a brief moment he hoped Duo would appear just like always and offer him a lift to school.

Heero shook his head to clear his mind of the memories. As he started to turn and head the rest of the way down he heard a small mew. Once again he got lost in the memories and expected to see Ryo-Ohki but instead of the little brown cabbit it was just a small black and white kitten. Heero had a soft, sad smile on his face as he watched the kitten jump off the rock and race into woods. He really missed his friends, especially Duo. He could almost hear Duo's voice with that strange mix of sadness and laughter that it always seemed to hold when he spoke

'It's like a carnival Heero. Something new and exciting everyday, ya know? Never knowing what will happen next. Sometimes I wish this could last forever, don't you Heero?'

Heero's expression became a little more melancholy as he glanced towards the sky. 'It almost seems like the last six months were a dream. It's hard to believe so much has happened since I saw Ryo-Ohki crash that day…'

**Six months earlier… **

Above Earth a battle was taking place between two ships. One ship was plant shaped. The top part had four brown spikes coming out of a maroon dome in the center while the bottom had silver root like structures. The other ship was a pale blue-gray with the front being tubular in shape and at the end it branched out where two engines were located. The two ships skimmed the atmosphere of the small planet as they exchanged fire. Finally the brown ship got in a lucky shot and hit the engines of its foe. As its pilot lost control and began a crash course towards the little planet below he fired one last shot and struck one of the spikes on the brown ship causing it to crash as well.

Down on Earth seventeen year old Heero was rushing out the door for school as he attempted to eat his toast, put on his shoes and check his bag to make sure he remembered his laptop. As soon as his normal Monday routine of hop, skip, jump, and chew was finished he took off at a full run down the hill and towards the stairs. Halfway down the stairs he heard a shrill whistle like sound coming from above. Shoving his messy brown hair out of the way he looked up to see what appeared to be a shooting star. His cobalt eyes widened in shock as the star split in two and crashed into the hillside.

Heero, being curious and looking for a reason to skip an hour long bus ride, went to check it out. As he approached the scene of the first crash all he saw were a few busted up trees and what looked like giant shards of brown crystal streaked with black soot. Looking through the settling dust he noticed a body by the lake. Dropping his backpack he quickly climbed over the wreckage and headed to the lake. As he knelt down he noticed the body had a three foot long chestnut braid and that it was wearing what looked like a black turtle neck tank with black bands on the wrists instead of sleeves, black baggy cargo style pants, and black combat boots. As he turned the body over he realized two things; one, it was a guy about his age and two, he had a pulse. After checking him over and seeing no obvious injuries, Heero decided the best thing to do would be to take him back up to the house and call an ambulance. He had barely picked him up when the young man's violet eyes started to open.

As the young man regained consciousness he blushed when he realized he was being carried around like a baby. 'Then again after that crash into the lake being carried around might be a good thing.' Out loud however, "As nice as this is do you think you could tell me who you are and maybe put me down?"

After almost dropping the other boy from the shock of hearing him speak Heero slowly picked his way across the wreckage to a large rock and sat his passenger down. As he moved to sit beside him he finally answered his question. "My name is Heero Yuy. Would you mind telling me your name? And maybe what the hell that is or was?" gesturing towards the crash site.

"Well Heero, nice to meet ya." Duo replied. With one leg hanging over the edge of the rock, he put his head on the knee of the leg he was hugging to his chest. Giving his new companion an impish grin he continued. "My name is Duo Maxwell and that is what's left of Ryo-Ohki, my ship. But she'll hatch out of an egg in a few days so that's not a problem." Noticing that Heero's eyes had widened in shock Duo's thoughts became a little alarmed. 'Please don't tell me…If I'm right I'm going to be in **_deep_** shit with Cat.' "I take it that having a spaceship crash around here isn't all that common huh?"

Heero, still reeling from the fact that this was an E.T. moment, gave into that babbling urge he had been repressing. "Um…no, spaceships do not normally crash here; especially two in one day." Dropping his head into his hands he started muttering. "All I wanted was to miss the bus, catch a ride with my dad, sit through class and maybe, just maybe, get to stare at the hot new teacher. Now I'm sitting here talking to an alien who just happens to mention that his ship, which is in pieces, is going to be a **_mommy?!_**"

Snickering, Duo tried to respond to his companion's mutterings. "Actually the egg will just be Ryo-Ohki reborn. She does that anytime something like this happens. It's kinda cool. But back to the other thing." Duo said as he jumped off the rock. Noticing Heero's blank look he rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically. "You know, you said two ships, right? Could you show me where the other ship crashed? It might be a good idea to go see if Cat's alright."

Heero climbed off the rock and the two began the trek towards the other smoking crash site. "You know the pilot of the other ship?" Heero asked.

"Well I think I do. I mean, no one else at the Galaxy Police besides Quatre is ballsy enough to chase after me. Usually they just send Dorothy and Ken-Ohki after me. Although that ship didn't really look like Yagami so I'm not too sure if it's Cat or not but my nickname seems to scare most of them off. Though how the hell a thief got the name Shinigami is beyond me. Maybe it's all the black. What do you think Hee…?" Turning to get the other teen's opinion on the matter he noticed that he had stopped some ways back and was giving him the oddest look. It was somewhere between confused, shocked and stupefied. Duo just sighed, grabbed his hand and started back towards the crash site again.

While Heero didn't stop walking again, he did yank his hand out of Duo's grasp. "Let me get this straight, you're a thief on the run from the police and you're on a first name basis with the cop after you?" At Duo's nod Heero had to ask. "Why?"

"Quatre and I go way back. We first met when we were kids. Hell, even then we played Cops and Robbers. We were good friends for the longest time. Well, anyways, about three years ago he got accepted into the academy and ever since we've sort of been playing tag." Duo snickered softly. "The only difference is that he's always it no matter how many times he catches me." When Duo's explanation ended they could hear a muffled voice coming from nearby. At first Heero couldn't make it out but as they got closer he could tell it was someone cursing.

"**_Goddamn it Duo!_** When I get my hands on you I'm gonna kick your ass to Jurai and back. Then I'm gonna shave that braid of yours off and feed it to Ryo-Ohki!" Upon hearing that Duo's face broke out into a huge grin and he started racing towards the sound. As Heero tried to catch up with him, he heard a loud clang, like someone had kicked a car. As he heard the chant of "shit, shit, shit." he realized the pilot _had_ kicked his ship. Suddenly, Duo, who was a good thirty feet in front of him, let out a loud war cry and jumped into the air.

As Heero arrived at the crash site he saw Duo and a blonde boy hugging one another while laughing. Behind the two teens was what Heero could only assume was once a ship. Now it was just a giant hunk of twisted metal. While wondering how the blonde had survived, Heero began sliding down the small crater created by the crash. As he got nearer to the teens he could over hear their conversation.

"Damn Cat, what were you thinking earlier? You woke me up from my nap damn it!"

"Well, I wanted to win this little game of tag Duo. Did you know that the betting pool at Headquarters on when I'll finally catch you and you staying caught is now larger than the bounty on your wanted poster?"

"No shit?! Damn I didn't think you actually did shit like that. Gambling being a big no-no for Jurai royal types and all."

"I didn't say I had any money in the pool just that it's getting damn big. And Duo?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't remind me that I'm related to 'Lena."

"Oops, forgot." Duo scratched his head and tried to look innocent. "Forgive me?"

"Of course Duo." Looking over his friend's shoulder Quatre finally spotted Heero just standing there looking slightly uncomfortable and out of place. "Um Duo, are you going to introduce me?"

Turning around Duo grabbed Heero's hand and pulled him forward. "Quatre, this is Heero Yuy. Heero, this is Detective First Class Quatre Winner; the Galaxy Police Academy's brightest pupil and star detective."

As the two shook hands Quatre looked Heero over. Dressed in a black school uniform, Heero looked to be about six feet tall with a trim yet muscular figure. He had a feeling that his face normally didn't wear the confused expression it was displaying, but maybe something more serious and studious. Quatre smiled and decided he liked him on sight. Heero, on the other hand, was a little more wary. It was hard to match the angelic looking blonde with blue-green eyes in blue jeans and a hunter green sweater with his mental image of what a cop, let alone a cop from out space, should look like. Then he remembered that this same blonde had survived a crash where his ship ended up looking like a giant crumbled ball of tinfoil. He returned the blonde's smile with a small one of his own.

With that done Quatre turned back to Duo. "Since my ship is out of it, do you think I could use Ryo-Ohki to send off a distress signal for me?"

Duo shook his head. "No can do, at least not yet. I crashed too, remember? It'll be a few days before Ryo-Ohki's up for that."

When Quatre looked like he was going to start cursing again Heero decided to speak up. "How about this, until Ryo-Ohki hatches…" Heero's face twitched at the idea of a ship coming out of an egg. "…the two of you can stay with me and my family." The two teens looked at each other and shrugged. Duo, being Duo, decided to get the lecture he knew was coming out of the way.

"Are you sure that's such a good idea? I mean, you did say spaceships making crash landings weren't a common occurrence on this planet. Hell, just by your reaction I have a feeling _space travel_ isn't all that common either. I don't want to freak your family out or anything."

Quatre, to Duo's surprise, just sighed and shook his head. "Duo's right. That might be a problem. Close your mouth Duo. I'm not going to chew you out. This is as much my fault as it is yours."

Because of Heero's puzzled expression Duo decided to explain. "There is this nice little law about coming in contact with races that have yet to reach a certain level of technology. Something about corrupting the natural evolution, the exchange of advanced technology and all that rot."

Heero smiled at that. "Unless you plan on exchanging interplanetary architecture ideas with my father or new ideas on how to sweep up the leaves at the shrine with my granddad I think we'll be okay. Besides they're pretty easy going guys. So if there are no other objections?" Both Duo and Quatre shook their heads. "Well then, let's head back to my house."

As the three boys were helping each other climb out of the crater Duo spoke up. "Hey do you think we can swing by the lake where I crashed? I need to pick up Ryo-Ohki. She should be done forming the egg by now."

Heero almost fell back in before Quatre caught him. Quickly recovering his footing he nodded his thanks to the blonde and he replied. "Sure. I need to pick up my backpack too." After dusting themselves off, the three teens made their way back to Duo's crash site. As Duo and Quatre talked, Heero wondered what had possessed him to invite them back to his house. He didn't even invite his friends from school out to his house. 'But' he realized 'most of my friends don't live this far out either.' As they got closer to the lake he sighed and accepted the fact that he was stuck with them. When they reached the wreckage Heero went for his bag while Quatre and Duo looked around for Ryo-Ohki's egg. After grabbing his bag and checking to see if his laptop was still in one piece, Heero walked over to where the other two were standing by the shore of the small lake.

"Did you find it yet?" Heero asked.

"Ryo-Ohki is a _she_, not an _it_. And no, we haven't found _her_ yet." Duo was a little put out by Heero's description of his ship and friend. "I think she formed the egg in the lake. Be right back guys." Heero's eyes almost popped out of his head as he and Quatre watched Duo calmly walk out to the center of the lake. As Duo walked around the top of the lake looking for Ryo-Ohki, Heero turned to Quatre raising one eyebrow, as if asking 'This is normal?' Quatre smiled. "He's not really walking on water, you know. He's actually floating."

"Floating?"

"Yes, Duo can float, fly actually. He's a powerful telekinetic. It's easy to forget though. He doesn't like to show off."

Heero grunted. 'If this isn't showing off, what is?'

When the two boys turned back to check on Duo, they saw him sink beneath the water. Before Heero could ask Quatre explained. "He's shielding. He can create a shield with some air enclosed for a short while. He can also shield himself for protection. How did you think he survived the crash? Hell, how did you think I survived?"

"You're a telekinetic?"

"A weak one, but I can shield for protection and I'm an empath."

Heero's eyebrow twitched again as he tried to process the information. "An empath?" His voice sounded more like a mouse squeak than his normal tone. 'Too much information, way too damned fast.' He thought.

"I can sense other people's emotions. It's not very reliable because people can repress their emotions, but it can come in handy every once in a while." Quatre frowned as a pale faced Heero went to sit down. He was slightly puzzled at the boy's confusion over things that to him seemed quite normal. 'This is probably why that damned Species Interaction law exists.' he thought. Shrugging, he looked back towards the lake. He saw Duo rise and begin to stroll back. As Duo got closer he could see that he was carrying a brown egg that was roughly the size of a child's teddy bear. Once Duo was close enough he could hear him muttering something that sounded like "about bloody time I found you" and that Ryo-Ohki was "being a pain in the ass, hiding like that." Snickering, Quatre interrupted his friend's lecture of the not yet hatched Ryo-Ohki. "Where was she?"

"She was at the bottom of the damn lake in the middle of a bunch of underwater shrubbery. Sometimes I think she reforms in the crappiest places just to piss me off."

"Oh, she's done something like this before?" Quatre asked his friend while trying for an innocent expression. Mentally however, 'Bitching shall commence in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…'

"Hell yeah! You remember that time Dorothy shot me down over Catamac? She reformed while buried under ten fucking feet of sand. It took me four hours to dig her out. Did you know that Catamac is mostly made up of deserts?"

"So, your point is…?"

Duo, who was getting into his little rant, decided to elaborate. "Quatre, Catamac is nothing but a shit load of sand, hot as hell temperatures, no shade, and no _fucking water_!" He held his braid up while cradling Ryo-Ohki's egg in the other arm. "By the time I got her out even my braid was sweating. Plus there was that time when we were kids on Jurai when she transformed for the first time…."

When Quatre started to laugh while listening to Duo rant and rave about all the times he had to dig up, fish out, or in one case steal back Ryo-Ohki in her egg form, Heero tuned them out to try and make sense of his day so far. 'Okay, let's go through this again. One, Duo and Quatre are not of this world. Two, Duo's a thief. Three, his ship is an egg.' Looking up to check out the egg Duo was carrying, he added to that last thought. 'How can something that small be a ship? Never mind, deal with it later. Four, he's friends with Quatre, a police officer who is currently trying to arrest him. Five, his ship is an _egg_. Six, he and Quatre are psychics. Seven, _his ship is an egg_. Eight, I invited them to stay with me until Ryo-Ohki _hatches_ and someone can come rescue Quatre. Nine, _Duo's ship is an **egg**_. Okay, I can deal with everything else but not the fact that that **_egg_** is a **_ship_**.' His mind stuck on that one thought, Heero yelled out **_"How the fuck does that egg turn into a ship?! What can hatch out of an egg and be capable of space flight?"_**

Quatre and Duo, who had forgotten Heero was just sitting there, turned to look at him. Quatre was useless since he was still snickering and one look at Heero's red, pissy face set off his laughter again. Duo, on the other hand, just smirked and stroked the big brown egg. "Just wait two or three days. By then she'll have hatched and be ready to take flight. Hell, if you want I'll even give you a ride. It would be the least we could do for you since you're letting us stay with you. It's great. Flying with Ryo-Ohki is like nothing else. You've gotta try it at least once. No other ship out there can match her speed or maneuverability."

Before Duo could start praising his baby's greatness, Quatre intervened. "Speaking of that don't you think we should head back to your house? I mean, won't your family be worried if you aren't back soon?"

"Yeah they're gonna be worried." Heero muttered looking down at his watch. 'I was supposed to be in my first class an hour ago.' "We better get back before the school calls. It's this way. Come on." Heero stood up and led the way back through the woods towards the path back to his house. For a while the strange little trio walked in silence, but once they reached the stairs Duo's curiosity got the better of him.

"So, you're still in school? Is it near here?"

"Yes and No."

"Is that outfit your school's uniform?"

"Yes."

"Damn, I thought I had finally found someone who liked black as much as me."

"Hn."

"Let me guess, now that the shock is over, you aren't going to talk much?"

"Not unless I have something to say."

Quatre reached around Heero and gently pulled Duo's braid. "Not everyone talks as much as you do. Don't bug him."

"Not the hair. Never the hair." Moving a little farther away from Quatre to keep his braid safe, Duo continued. "I'm just curious. Besides, the more I know the risk of my accidentally ticking someone off goes down drastically. So is there anything we should know about living with you?"

"Two things. One, when my door is shut I'm studying, so don't bother me. Two, don't _ever_ touch my laptop without my permission."

"That's it? Door shut, quiet, Laptop, no-no. Well that should be easy to remember." Duo paused as they reached a little plateau on the stairway and followed Heero when he turned left on to a dirt path. "Umm, just one question. What's a laptop?"

Heero snorted and looked at the two boys. Both looked a little confused. "Do you know what a computer is?" They nodded. "Well, a laptop is a portable computer. It's about a foot long and I guess eight inches wide. It opens up like a book and runs off a battery."

Quatre pulled what looked like a long silvery blue pen to Heero out of his pocket. Looking from the pen to Heero and back to the pen again Quatre asked "You mean that your computers are that big?"

"Actually most are larger than that. Laptops are just portable computers. Why?"

"Because that stick Cat's holding is his computer." Duo replied snickering at Heero's shocked expression.

Shaking his head in amusement, Quatre muttered to himself "How do people carry things like that around. It's a waste of space."

Heero's eyes lit up with an idea. "Quatre, do you think I could look at your computer later? I won't try to take it a part or anything. I just want to see it work."

"Uh I don't think…"

"Why not Quatre? He said he wouldn't try to figure out how it works. Hell, do you even know how it works?" When Quatre blushed and shook his head no Duo continued attempting to appeal to the blonde's generous nature. "It would be a nice thing to do considering he's letting us stay with him and all." When that didn't work Duo decided to use the puppy eyes. Even Heero had a pitiful look on his face.

Quatre looked at his friend and Heero. Sighing, he accepted the inevitable. "Fine you can look at it later while I'm typing up my report. But that's it. No touching. The last thing I need is to get an ass chewing from my superiors because I let someone from this planet play with advanced technology."

"Thank you, Quatre." Heero said with a small smile. His smile faded, however, as he saw his grandfather wearing a less than pleased expression standing by the fence surrounding the house. Heero ran up to him to try to explain why he wasn't in school.

"Busted." Duo whispered. He recognized that look. He'd seen it one to many times as a child. Quatre shot Duo an amused look as they continued walking over to where Heero was trying to explain why he wasn't at school.

"Um granddad, did you hear that explosion a while ago?"

"Actually I heard two."

"Well, that was…" Turning to face the other boys with him "How do I explain this? Especially that," waving his hand at the egg in Duo's arms.

"Still stuck Ryo-Ohki being an egg, huh? And for the last time Ryo-Ohki's a **_she_** not an _it_ or a _that_!"

"Well, Heero you could try introducing your friends and perhaps inviting them in for starters." His granddad replied, cutting off the braided boy's rant.

While Heero stuttered, Duo walked forward and handed him the egg and hissed "Don't drop her." Turning to face Heero's grandfather, he shook his hand and introduced himself. "Hello sir. My name is Duo Maxwell and this here is Quatre Winner." Quatre had to duck as Duo's hand swung towards him and almost whacked him right in the face. "It's very nice to meet you sir." While Quatre shook the old man's hand Duo took Ryo-Ohki back from Heero. "Thanks for not dropping her."

"It's very nice to meet you both. My name is Katsuhito Masaki. Let's head inside and perhaps my grandson can explain himself." As he walked to the front door he called over his shoulder. "Heero?"

"Yes sir?"

"It had better be good young man."

As the three teens followed him into the house Katsuhito went straight down the hall and turned right through a door. Heero was about follow when Duo grabbed his arm.

"Do you think I could have a blanket for Ryo-Ohki?"

Heero snorted and turned to climb the stairs instead. He motioned to where the old man had gone, "You might as well join granddad and I'll bring you the blanket." As he went upstairs the other two looked at each other, shrugged, and went down the hall to where they had seen the old man go.

As Duo passed the living room he noticed that there was a large oak entertainment center that had a T.V., a VCR and a DVD player on one side with closed cabinets on the other. 'Probably full of vid discs' he thought. There were two large dark purple couches in the room. While one was against a wall the other's back was to the hallway as if was separating the two rooms. In the center of the room was a large white rug placed on the golden hardwood floors. And in the center of the rug was an oak table with a small bowl full of colored, glass balls. In the summer he imagined there might be flowers instead. The room appeared to be quite welcoming and homey. 'It looks lived in.'

Heero's grandfather smiled when he saw the two teens peering around the open kitchen door. "Go ahead and sit down at the table boys. I'm going to make some tea, would you like anything?"

As he walked in Quatre noticed that the kitchen was quite large and open. All of the appliances except for the stove were white as were the cabinets and other woodwork. The stove, however, was a large stainless steel monstrosity, like what you might find in a restaurant. The floor was white linoleum with a pale blue box pattern. The table and chairs were wood but instead of them being solid white like the cabinets, they were stained with a semi clear white stain allowing one to see the grain of the wood. 'It looks like it was designed by a chef. Too bad I can't cook but it might be fun to try in here.' "Tea sounds wonderful. Duo?" Quatre asked as he took a seat.

"Yeah tea sounds fine." said Duo, who wasn't paying them a bit of attention as he looked over the egg in his lap.

"If you don't mind me asking, what about that egg of yours has my grandson so flustered?"

"Heero just can't get over the fact that Ryo-Ohki here will hatch soon." Quatre snorted his opinion of Duo's evasion.

"That's all? I highly doubt that would get his kickers twist." Pausing in his hunt for mugs, he looked at Quatre, "What did your friend here leave out?"

"He forgot to mention the fact that two days after she hatches, Ryo-Ohki will be able to transform."

"Transform into what?"

Duo's face lit up with pride. "She'll be able to transform into a ship. A really sweet ship."

"Really? Well now, won't that be interesting to see." Katsuhito poured four cups of tea and handed two to the boys at the table. He placed a third cup in front of the empty chair in front of Duo. Carrying his cup he sat down in the chair across from Quatre. "Do you think I could see her change?"

"Sure, I bet she'd love to show off for ya. You know, you're taking this a lot better than Heero did sir."

"Boys when you reach my age you've seen some fairly strange things. Besides I have a feeling seeing my family's reaction to _that_ will be a real pleasure."

Heero stalked into the kitchen and dropped a small blanket in front of Duo with a grunt. Duo smiled at him. "Thanks man." Duo replied as he wrapped the blanket in a diaper like fashion around the egg. Sitting down, Heero pushed his tea away and buried his head in his hands. "What do you want to know granddad?"

"Um, what should I ask first? Ah, I know. What were those explosions earlier?"

"I'll take this one. That was Duo and I. Our ships crashed on the hill below."

"I see. And just why did you two boys crash in our front yard?"

"Mine." Duo grinned. "Well Quatre decided to try and arrest me again." Duo stuck his tongue out at Quatre's snort. "Anyways, our little fire fight ended when we shot each other down and whammy Ryo-Ohki and I landed head first in a lake and I think Cat took out a couple trees."

"Again?" he asked. "Just how many times have you two done this?"

"I've been chasing Duo around for about two years now but we've never crashed before, at least not at the same time." Quatre sighed and put his head down mirroring Heero's position. "My partner at Headquarters is never going to let me live this down."

Katsuhito reached over and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry young man. Things are never as bad as they seem. Heero, can I assume the reason you aren't in school is because you went to see what happened?"

"Yeah, I went to go check it out, found him…" without looking up, he waved a hand in Duo's general direction. "…found out that he's an alien, went and picked up another alien…" he waved his hand at Quatre. "…went to the lake for the egg, saw that baka walk on water…" Duo blew a raspberry at Heero when he heard the 'baka'. "…found out they're psychics, he got that egg thing out of the lake and we came back here. End of story."

Quatre quickly put his hand over Duo's mouth. Leaning over he whispered in Duo's ear. "Defend Ryo-Ohki later. For now please be polite. They're our hosts."

Over hearing Quatre Katsuhito raised an eyebrow at his grandson. "I also invited them stay here for a while."

Quatre smiled nervously at the old man. "We really appreciate his offer, especially since we don't know anyone else on this planet. But if it's too much trouble we can find somewhere else to stay. I mean, it shouldn't be to hard…"

Katsuhito cut the blonde off with a gentle smile. "It's not a problem. The two of you are welcome to stay here as long as you wish. Besides if you left I would miss the chance to see Ryo-Ohki's transformation." Placing his tea on the table, he sighed. "I suppose this justifies the family emergency excuse I gave your homeroom teacher when he called."

Heero looked up at him, shocked. "That's it?! No other questions?"

Katsuhito stood up and placed his cup in the sink. "None at all. Now Heero, Mr. Walker told me he had your friend Zechs email you the assignments for today. Why don't you go work on those while I show these young men around and where they'll be staying, alright?" Noticing that Heero was just sitting there, he reached over and pulled the dazed young man up, gently pushing him towards the door. "I'll call you down for lunch when we're done." Heero nodded as he made his way silently out of the kitchen.

Duo and Quatre looked over the half wall that divided the kitchen and the living room to watch Heero walk off. 'He's acting kinda weird. I wonder if he's gonna be okay?' Duo wondered. Quatre had felt Heero's confusion and frustration, 'Bet that's about Ryo-Ohki.' Voicing his thoughts, he asked "He's being awfully quiet. Is he going to be okay?"

Sighing, the old man replied "He's been like that since my daughter, his mother, died, so quiet and serious. That's one of the reasons I said you boys could stay here. This is the first time in quite a while that Heero's done something spontaneous. If we're lucky you boys might snap him out of it and get him to loosen up." 'If I'm really lucky they'll actually get him away from that computer.' Katsuhito thought to himself. Moving towards the door he looked back at the boys. "If you're done with your tea we might as well get the tour started."

Quatre held his cup up and asked "What would you like us to do with these, sir?"

"Just place them in the sink and follow me."

The two teens quickly placed their cups in the sink and trotted after him. Instead of turning left and back towards the living room, he turned right. Right next to the kitchen door there was another door. Pointing to it Katsuhito started the tour.

"That is the downstairs bathroom. It only has a toilet and a sink. Now down here on the left is my son-in-law's study. Basically it's where he hides his porn but I'm not supposed to know that." Winking at the two teens, he continued down the hall and opened the last door on the right. "This is the laundry room. Speaking of laundry we need to get you boys some more clothes. We'll deal with that when Odin gets home tonight." Walking into the room he opened up a door to the outside and motioned for the teens to follow him.

The two teens walked out into what looked like a small private flower garden with a small patio. But because it was fall nothing was in bloom yet it looked neat and you could see it was prepared for the coming cold weather. "This is my late wife's garden. If you two stick around until spring you'll get to see it in its' full glory. With all the flowers in bloom it's quite a sight." As he looked around Quatre was amazed at the love and care it would take to maintain the small garden in the summer. 'He must have loved his wife quite a bit to keep looking after it.'

"Well boys lets get back in and I'll show you the rest." As the trio made their way back to the house Duo tried to imagine the garden at the height of summer. However anytime he did he kept picturing Ryo-Ohki exploring or playing in the flowers. 'I hope I'm actually here to see that. It would be nice to get a chance to sketch her out here.' Realizing he had fallen behind, he quickened his pace to catch up with the pair in the hallway. Seeing a small door under that stairs he stopped Katsuhito.

"What's in there sir?"

"Nothing really. It's just an old store room. I believe that's everything down here. Let's head on upstairs." The three slowly made their way up the stairs and stopped when the reached the second floor. Walking straight to the first door on the right Katsuhito slammed the door open causing the teens to jump.

"**_Granddad!_** "

"As you can hear this is Heero's room, kingdom of Sir Grumpy." said Katsuhito. "Did Zechs send your assignments already?" Duo and Quatre crept closer and peered in. The walls were painted a dark blue and the carpet was a pale gray. Heero's bed was on the far wall under a large open window. On the left wall were a few anime posters, a book case, and a small dresser. On the right wall was a desk covered in photography supplies, a laptop, and a few school books. And one very pissed Heero sitting in a chair in front of the laptop.

Getting up from his desk he walked to the door and glared at the intruders. "Yes he sent me my work. Now if you'll excuse me." he growled and slammed the door in their faces.

Katsuhito snickered and turned back to face the teens. "Don't worry. He won't bite. Now this" he said while slapping the door on the left "is the bathroom. Don't worry about walking in on me or Odin. Our rooms have private baths. These two middle rooms are guestrooms." He opened the door on the left and the boys saw a room painted a pale pink with two twin beds covered in pink and white quilts. 'It looks a lot like the guest room mom keeps up for 'Lena' Quatre thought. Duo just made a yuck face at all the pink.

"Pink not your favorite color huh? Maybe you two will like this better." Said Katsuhito and opened the door on the right. In Duo's opinion this room was a huge improvement. The walls were a dark hunter green and the beds were covered in cream and green quilts that matched the walls. Even Quatre looked a little relived at the lack of pink.

"Let's keep moving huh? These two rooms here on the end are mine and Odin's. I don't think you boys need to see me and Odin's dirty underwear. Let's go on up to the third floor. There's only my daughter's old room so this should be quick."

At the top of the stairs he opened a door into what looked like a remodeled attic. It had three, large skylights that looked like they could be opened to get access to the roof and several windows on the walls. And while most of the floor had a thick black carpet, one corner had the same pale blue and white linoleum tile as the kitchen. Set up under a skylight in that corner was an old easel and a beat up, paint and clay splattered bookcase. The rest of the room looked like a normal bedroom with a twin bed underneath a wide picture window against one wall. Across from that in a corner there was a large wooden dresser painted a dark red with a radio on top and a bookcase filled with old text books and manga. Spread out among the room were a couple of beanbags and a few standing lamps. Duo loved it. He knew Ryo-Ohki would love it. He wanted to ask if they could stay here but he didn't want to be rude.

Seeing the teen's face Katsuhito smiled. 'Another teenage artist in the family' he thought. "Well Duo it looks like we found your room for while you're here."

"Sir I couldn't stay here. I mean this is…was your daughter's room and all. I...it wouldn't be right." Duo stammered.

"Nonsense, this is where you're staying. I'm sure if Achika were here she would say the same."

"If you're sure it's alright…"

"Of course I am. Now then, let's head down stairs and pick a room for Quatre and find some bed linens and blankets."

As Quatre went to follow the old man back down the stairs, he turned back to look at his old friend. Duo was starring out one of the many windows over looking the garden and telling Ryo-Ohki's egg all about their new room. Suddenly Quatre realized something. Duo fit here. Duo had never seemed to fit anywhere before. Not with his family, even though they had loved and welcomed the braided boy into their home. Nor did he fit with the thieves and outlaws he now ran with. But here Duo seemed comfortable, like this was his home. 'Maybe he's finally found a place where he can be himself.' With a small smile Quatre put his arm around Duo's shoulders and led him out. "Come on Duo. Let's head downstairs 'kay?"

TBC

_A/N: See the little review button? If you like the story please let me know. See you later._

_Kel_


	2. Chapter Two

**Violets, Braids, and Space Pirates**

Disclaimer:  I don't own GW, Tenchi Muyo, or the random character/planet from Outlaw Star.

Warnings:  slash, het, fluff, angst, violence (eventually), stupidity, foul language, occasional Relena bashing, and my weird attempts at humor.

Rating:  R for swearing and violence.

**Chapter Two: Partners and Computers**

**Galaxy Police Headquarters**

            Detective First Class Trowa Barton was pissed. As he stalked down the station corridors to his office he glared and growled at anyone who dared to speak to him. He even managed to make one new recruit wet himself. Three days. He's been gone three damn days. No report, no check-in. Hell, he hasn't even e-mailed Iria. All because of some stupid rumors that Maxwell was seen near the Sol system.' His mental tirade was cut off as his glare immune assistant handed him his messages. Looking through the pile he clenched his teeth.

            "Still nothing from Detective Winner?"  

            "No sir, nothing yet."

            "Thank you Sam. If anyone else calls just take a message and tell them I'll get back to them tomorrow."

            "Yes sir.

            Trowa walked into his office and threw himself into his chair. Glaring over at his partner's deserted cabbit print covered desk he thought The worst thing about this is he took my ship.' [1]

**Earth**

            Once lunch was finished and after threatening to superglue Heero's laptop shut if he didn't spend at least some time with their guests, Katsuhito left to tend to the shrine. Heero, who interpreted this as just being in the same room, decided to bring his laptop downstairs. When he was leaving his room he remembered Duo had still been holding that egg all through lunch. Figuring the baka might want to put it down at some point he went to dig up his old wicker Easter basket out of the bathroom linen closet. Grabbing it and an old towel to line the bottom he headed back downstairs.

            Down in the living room while Duo was laying down for a nap Quatre was leaning against the entrance way wondering how he was going to tell his fanatical partner he had crashed his ship. He had a feeling the second his report reached Headquarters quite a few newbies were going to be in need of some serious therapy. Shuddering, he remembered the last time Trowa had lost it. Now that I think about it, it was one of Duo and Ryo-Ohki's pranks that set him off. [1] I can only hope and pray he's not the one to come rescue me.' Looking at his sleeping friend who was curled around Ryo-Ohki's egg he could imagine the ass-whipping Trowa would get if he managed to actually piss the braided maniac off. Snorting, he thought Then again that might not be a bad thing. It might take him down a peg or two if Duo kicked his ass.' Silencing a laugh at the idea of Duo's chi sword cutting through Trowa's gun he pulled his computer out of his pocket and moved to sit on the couch.

            Right as he was about to hit the button to turn it on he recalled his promise to let Heero look it over. As he was standing up to go find the other boy Heero walked into the room carrying a dark brown basket and thick piece of black plastic. Holding a finger to his lips he pointed to the sleeping boy and motioned Heero towards the kitchen. "I'm going to take a wild guess that the black thing is your laptop but what's the basket for?" he whispered.

            "It's for the egg."

            "You're really going to tick Duo off if you keep referring to Ryo-Ohki as an inanimate object. He's really protective of her."

            Rolling his eyes as he removed the phone from the wall in the kitchen and connected the phone line to his computer Heero scoffed at Quatre. "What's he going to do, beat me up?"

            "Duo might not look it but he's extremely powerful. Like I said before, he doesn't like to show off. Don't take him for the fool he acts like." he warned as he sat down.

            Giving the blonde a look of total disbelief as he sat down next to him Heero turned on his computer. "You're making him sound like the killer rabbit from that old Monty Python movie."

            "What?"

            "Cute and innocent one minute, ass kicker the next. Remind me sometime. I'll find it for you. My point is no one who acts like him could kick my ass."

            "Don't say I didn't warn you. It's your passing."

            "Funeral."

            "Huh?"

            "Here the phrase is It's your funeral.'"

            "I'll remember that. Now, do you still want to look at my computer?"

            "If you don't mind showing me I'd love to."

            "Okay, watch this." Quatre placed the silver stick length wise on the table and pushed a button on one end. Suddenly the stick rose about an inch off the table

and split into three pieces. One piece rose twelve inches into the air while another extended ten inches across the table's surface. The piece in the middle didn't move. Once the pieces stopped moving a see through black surface could be seen on the lower half while the top half appeared to be a monitor. When Heero looked closely he could see letters and other various symbols on the black surface.

            "How does it work?"

            "Well, the whole thing is touch sensitive. If you touch the icons on the screen you can bring up programs or you can use this circle here on the key pad to move the curser around and click on them. Also, the computer is DNA sensitive. That means only I can turn it on and access certain programs and files. If you tried to use it you could only open up a blank document or the games, which suck by the way. Plus since this computer was made specifically for a Galaxy Police officer it also checks to make sure the registered user is alive while using it. That way anytime an officer is killed the killer cannot gain access to sealed files. Anything else you want to know about it?"

            As Heero eyed the computer a little voice in the back of his head was jumping up and down going Ooo new toy! I want, I want!' "Yeah, who invented this and where can I get one?"

            "Don't even think about it. I _really_ don't need to get my superiors any more pissed off then they're going to be once they see my report. But as to who invented it I believe the original idea for a shadow computer came from this crazy, katana wielding scientist a couple hundred years ago. I don't remember his name but he was supposedly this super genius that came up with tons of weird ideas. Only a few of his ideas were practical enough for every day use though. Anything else?"

            "No I think that's everything."

            "Well I'm going to start my report. Don't hesitate to ask me if you think up any more questions."

Tbc…

[1] If you're wondering Duo and Ryo-Ohki snuck into G.P. Headquarters and repainted Quatre and Trowa's office. Duo did the walls and desks a bright pumpkin orange while Ryo-Ohki put little green cabbit paw and ear prints all over the floors, desk, and anywhere else she could reach. She also did a few full body prints on the windows and the door.

_A/N:  See the little review button?  If you like the story please let me know.  See you later._

_Kel___


	3. Chapter Three

**Violets, Braids, and Space Pirates**

Disclaimer:  I don't own GW, Tenchi Muyo, or the random character/planet from Outlaw Star.

Warnings:  slash, het, fluff, angst, violence (eventually), stupidity, foul language, occasional Relena bashing, and my weird attempts at humor.

Rating:  R for swearing and violence.

**Chapter Three: Nicknames**

            After a few hours of surfing the web Heero decided to start dinner. As he looked through the refrigerator, the pantry, and the cabinets he realized his dad still hadn't been to the store. Looks like granddad's gonna have to steal the keys and go to the store again.' As he got everything set up for meatless spaghetti and a small side salad he asked Quatre if he could go wake Duo up for dinner. Quatre nodded, shut down his computer and went to go get the other boy. Walking into the living room he saw his friend was already awake and sniffing the air.

            "Something smells real good. Who's cooking?"

            "Heero is. It looks like some kind of pasta dish. Duo, look, I've been thinking…"

            Duo stopped stretching and looked at his friend. Quatre looked nervous and was fidgeting with a pillow from the sofa. Cat rarely gets nervous. Wonder what's up?' "Cat just spit it out. Whatever it is it can't be that bad."

            "You know that my once my report reaches Headquarters my partner is going to see it and find out you're here ."

            Laughing Duo cut Quatre off "Don't tell me he's still ticked off about that stunt me and Ryo-Ohki pulled."

            "Duo, be serious for a moment. I just wanted to warn you that he's probably going to try and arrest you again."

            "He can try. Wait a minute." Duo tilted his head to the side thinking. "Isn't your partner that cute guy with the green eyes and the attitude problem?"

            "I don't know about cute but he does have an attitude problem."

            "You're blushing Cat."

            "So?!"

            "Just admit it. You think he's cute, don't you?"

            "It doesn't matter if I think he's cute. I just wanted to warn you. Sheesh."

            Duo laughed and pulled him into a hug. "I was just teasing you Cat. Don't worry, I promise to never look at your cute partner's butt ever again."

            Laughing, Quatre lightly smacked Duo on the back of the head. "You damn well better not. At least not until I've checked it out."

            "You've worked with this guy for what, a year now, and you haven't looked at his ass yet?" Duo gasped and fell backwards on to the couch. "What's wrong with you?"

            "Nothing, I just don't like his attitude." Quatre replied a bit defensively.

            "Not liking someone's attitude is not a good reason to ignore their ass, Quatre. Especially an ass on a cutie like your partner."

            "Excuse me boys. I hate to interrupt but dinner is ready." Katsuhito chuckled quietly as the two boys blushed bright red. "Pick up Ryo-Ohki and come on." While Duo picked up Ryo-Ohki Quatre tried to stammer out an apology. "Don't worry about it blondie. I was young once. You should have heard some of things I used to talk about when I was your age." He rubbed his check with a fond smile. "I can still feel where Itsuki punched me when she found me bragging to my friends."

            "Itsuki, sir?" Quatre asked as they walked to the kitchen.

            "My wife. She was an amazing woman. Graceful, beautiful all the things that were expected of a woman back then. But at the same time she was amazingly independent, intelligent and willful. It was love at first knockout. You boys go ahead and sit down and I'll get you something to drink." Opening the fridge he noticed that all they had left to drink was some soda and half a pitcher of iced tea. Looking at Heero he said "Time to steal the car again?"

            Placing the plates and bowls on the table Heero sighed "That might be a good idea since we're completely out of any kind of meat, canned vegetables, milk, coffee and I just used the last bag of salad mix tonight. Plus, you used the last of the bacon for the BLT's at lunch."

            "Ah well, I needed to take them shopping for clothes anyways. Hmm, I might have to swipe his Visa this time too. We still had enough bread for garlic toast though, right?" Katsuhito asked while pouring out the last of the iced tea. "Spaghetti is just not the same without it."

            Watching the two men banter back and forth Quatre turned to Duo and mouthed Steal the car?!'

            Knowing that Quatre's family was really reserved and didn't have those little family jokes that most did Duo whispered back "Don't worry. They're not serious."

            "Ha, I wish I wasn't serious little man. This is the second time this month alone Odin's forgotten to do the shopping. He spends way too much time at the firm." Katsuhito replied while putting the drinks on the table and sitting down. "Heero grab the dressing on your way over."

            "All we have left is that balsamic vinegar crap Dad likes."

            "It's better than nothing. Grab it and get your tushie to the table."

            On the way over to the table with the dressing Heero grabbed the basket off the counter. He handed it to Duo as he sat down. "It's for the…Ryo-Ohki. That way you don't have to carry her everywhere." He said, stumbling over referring to an egg as a person. While he didn't believe Quatre's warning he figured it wouldn't hurt to be polite.

            Duo took it with a small smile. "Thanks Ro. She does get kinda heavy after a while." He rearranged the blanket diaper and gently placed Ryo-Ohki in the basket.

            "Hn." I still don't see how that thing turns into a ship.' he thought watching Duo tenderly care for the egg. Baka.' He gave a mental snort and started eating.

            Katsuhito raised an eyebrow at his grandson's thoughtful gesture. And he did it without a threat to the almighty laptop, hmm…' "Let's eat boys. Here, Quatre put a little of this on your salad. That way it won't be so dry." He took a big bite of the pasta and smiled. "Not bad, you've taken the dregs of a bare kitchen and come up with something halfway decent."

            "He's right, this is pretty good Ro."

            "Hn. Don't call me that."

            "Okay, how about Hee-chan?" Duo said with a playful smirk

            Katsuhito almost spit his tea all over the table and Quatre tried to muffle his laughter at Heero's shocked face. Smoothing his expression back out Heero replied "Not that either. My name is Heero. Not Ro and _definitely_ _not Hee-chan_."

            "Everyone's got to have a nickname Hee-chan." Duo snickered as Heero's face twitched again. This is fun. I wonder if he'll do that every time I call him that. Gotta remember to call him that again later.' "But if Hee-chan bugs you so much I guess I can call you Ro for now." Duo met Heero's glare with a wink and a smile and turned back to his dinner.

            The rest of the meal was spent with Katsuhito telling Quatre and Duo about all the stores they were going to visit tomorrow to get them some clothes and a few other necessities. They tried to tell him that it wasn't necessary for him to be so generous. The old man waved their objections aside with a cryptic "Call it old man's intuition, but I think you boys are going to be here a lot longer than you think you are." Duo finally quit objecting to the shopping trip and started firing off questions once Katsuhito mentioned the art store he wanted to take them to. When everyone was finished Katsuhito sent Duo and Heero, who only consented after his laptop was again threatened with the evils of superglue, off into the living room. Quatre, on the other hand, was commandeered to help clean up the kitchen.

            "What do you want me to do sir?"

            "First off, drop the sir. As nice as it is, you can't call me that all the time. Call me Gramps or Granddad."

            "But Gramps is kind of disrespectful, isn't it?"

            "Like your friend said, everyone needs a nickname." He smiled and ruffled the blonde's hair on the way to the sink. "Besides if you're going to be here as long as I think you are, the sir' thing is going to get old. Now put the dressing and the last of the spaghetti in the fridge and tell me about this cute partner of yours."

            Quatre's face started to look like a cherry tomato with a blonde wig. Why me?' he thought. "Well Trowa's a very career orientated person. He takes our cases very seriously. Um, what would you like me to do now?"

            "Grab the rest of those plates and bring them over here. I'll wash, you can rinse. Back to Trowa. That can't be all you know about him. What about his personal life?"

            As Quatre was carrying the rest of the dishes from dinner to the sink he promised himself he would get Duo back somehow. If he hadn't started talking about Trowa's backside I wouldn't be getting grilled right now.' "I think he has a sister, Catherine."

            "Girlfriend? Boyfriend? Details, blondie."

            "Um, I don't think so." Duo is _so-o-o_ _dead!_'

            "And you haven't asked him out yet?"

            "No." Quatre replied rinsing off a dish and quietly planning the murder of his childhood friend.

            "Egg boy's right, something must be wrong with you. He's cute, has a stable job, single and from the sound of your conversation earlier, he has a nice tush. Quit blushing. Here take this and wipe off the table. Now, why haven't you asked him out, even if it's just as a friend?" Katsuhito asked as he wiped out the sink.

            Quatre sighed as he started to clean the table off. "It's his attitude problem. The least little thing that might affect his career pisses him off. Plus, he seems to think I can't handle my job."

            "And why is that?" the old man prodded as he moved to wipe down the stove.

            "I'm very, very distantly related to the current royal family of Jurai. Trowa thinks I somehow used my family's connections to get my job with the Galaxy Police. But that's impossible since Relena and I don't get along. She would rather admit being related to an Outlaw than to me." Quatre sighed and sat down, twisting the rag between his fingers. Quirking a little smile Quatre continued "Well, any Outlaw that's not Duo."

            "Speaking of Duo, do you think your partner might not take you seriously because he keeps getting away from you?"

            "No I don't think that's it. No one besides me has ever even come close to catching him. I've at least managed to get him in cuffs and in a holding cell before he takes off. The closest Trowa ever got to catching him was when he passed him in the halls on Duo's way out of H.Q. after his last prank." Quatre tried to stifle a yawn. "Trowa's still ticked because of that."

            "Hmm, maybe he'll come around in time." Katsuhito turned to around to see Quatre trying to hold back another yawn. "Hand me that rag blondie and head on up to bed." Holding up a hand when Quatre opened his mouth to protest he threw the rags into the sink and started to push the blonde towards the door. "I know it's only eight thirty but you've been through quite a lot today. I put some of Heero's old sweats up in your room for you earlier, so off to bed."

            "Okay, I'm going. I'm going." Stopping at the door Quatre turned and gave the old man a sleepy smile. "Goodnight Granddad."

            Shaking his head at the retreating blonde, Katsuhito headed for the living room and found Heero attempting to explain a video game to Duo. After watching his grandson and Duo argue for a few minutes he decided to interrupt. "I hate to break it to you boys but I'm invoking the sacred old man's right and sending you two to bed."

            Duo and Heero went quiet and turned to look at him. "Granddad it's not even nine yet." Heero protested.

            "Don't care Heero. If you start that game now you two will be up until midnight. You can show him how to play it tomorrow after school. Besides, tomorrow is going to be a busy day. Indulge me just this once."

            Heero sighed and turned the game off. Standing up he wished his granddad a goodnight and started up the stairs.

            "Goodnight sir." Duo said as he picked up Ryo-Ohki and moved to follow Heero.

            "Duo, I just got done telling your friend this and now I'm telling you. Drop the sir. Call me Granddad or Gramps, okay?"

            "Seriously?" Duo turned to look at him in disbelief.

            "Yes, seriously." Suddenly Katsuhito was being glomped by an excited Duo. Laughing, he returned the boy's hug. "Go to bed Duo. I'll see you in the morning."

            " Okay. Goodnight Granddad."

            As Katsuhito was sitting down to watch the news he heard Duo and Heero's voices faintly from upstairs.

            "Night-night Hee-chan."

            "Baka."

            Shaking his head he rolled his eyes and thought Teenagers.'

TBC

_A/N:  See the little review button?  If you like the story please let me know.  See you later._

_Kel___


	4. Chapter Four

**Violets, Braids, and Space Pirates**

Disclaimer:  I don't own GW, Tenchi Muyo, or the random character/planet from Outlaw Star.

Warnings:  slash, het, fluff, angst, violence (eventually), stupidity, foul language, occasional Relena bashing, and my weird attempts at humor.

Rating:  R for swearing and violence.

**Chapter Four: Ryo-Ohki!**

**Galaxy Police Headquarters-Repair Shop**

            Trowa walked around the numerous piles of spare ship parts looking for someone who would be able to tell him when Quatre's ship would be fixed. Spotting a bright, gaudy shirt he started running over to the other side of the shop. Finally, he's got to know.' "Howard, do you have a minute?"

            "Detective Barton, what brings you down here?"

            "I was wondering when Yagami would be ready to go. Could you tell me?"

            "Winner's ship?" Howard scratched his head in thought. "The ship's computer's been purged of the virus so that's taken care of but we still need to finish the yearly maintenance check. Then there's the problem with the air filtering system. Some of the plants are dying off and we need to replace those. I'm guessing with our current workload it's gonna be at least two, maybe three days"

            "Thanks Howard. I'll see you later."

            "No problem Barton. Have a good one."

            "You too Howard."

**Earth-Roughly-One A.M.**

            Quatre shot up. Panting, Quatre looked around trying to figure out what had woken him up. Not hearing anything, he decided to drop his shields. Quatre felt' around the house with his empathy. Okay, nothing from Granddad. I guess that's Odin. Wonder who the girl he's dreaming about is? Nothing from Heero but a weird dream. Wait, is that Duo's hair? Payback ammo.' Quatre got an evil little smirk on his face. Maybe I can use this to get him back for the grilling session I got from Granddad last night. What the hell is Duo so happy about? Oh shit!' "I gotta get some food before she eats his bed."

            Throwing off his covers, Quatre jumped out of bed and quietly ran downstairs to the kitchen. Pulling open the fridge door, he looked around for something to feed Ryo-Ohki. Let's see, damn they weren't kidding. They really don't have much to choose from. Hmm, I know she prefers fresh vegetables and fruit. Okay, this looks good.' He grabbed half a head of cabbage and a full bag of baby carrots. Opening and shutting cabinet doors he muttered to himself. "Where the hell do they keep the bowls in this house? Ha, found one." As he was filling a small bowl with water Duo came running into the kitchen carrying a wobbling basket, a pillow and a towel. "Scared she was gonna go for your bed?"

            "More like my braid. She'll eat anything when she first hatches." Duo said, placing the basket on the table. "Hey Cat, can you watch her while I go get something to wash her off with?"

            "Sure. Make it quick though."

            "Yeah, I know. She's almost ready." Duo snuck back upstairs to the bathroom and swiped a couple of bottles of shampoo and conditioner. As he got back to the kitchen Quatre was placing Ryo-Ohki's egg in the sink. "Cat, are you sure that's such a good idea? What if pieces of the shell clog the drain?"

            "Do you want to clean up the mess this can make?"

            "Hell no!"

            "Didn't think so. Besides I put the little catcher thingy in the bottom. I saw Granddad use it last night."

            "It's pretty cool of the old guy to let us to call him that, huh?"

            "Yeah, it is nice of him." Especially for you.' Quatre thought, giving his friend a gentle smile.

            "Shit Cat, look! It's cracking. About damn bloody time. I'll help her ditch the shell; you grab some food, kay?

            Quatre grabbed the cabbage and held it above the sink. God please don't let her bite me this time.' As Duo pulled the top part of the egg away a very wet and slimy cabbit popped into view. Quatre quickly handed Ryo-Ohki the cabbage and backed off.

            "Scared much, Cat?"

            "Hey, at least she hasn't bitten you. I've still got a scar from the first time."

            /I wouldn't have bitten him if he had just handed me my food. How many times have I said I'm sorry for that? Five? Six? He knows he's on my list./

            "After your bath I've got a couple of people we need to add to your do not bite' list." Duo replied, picking up the cabbit and placing her in the other side of the sink. "Cat can you hand me the shampoo?"

            "Sure, I guess I'm stuck cleaning up the goo. Jerk."

            "You wanna bathe her?"

            "Good point."

            /Relena's still not on it, right?/

            (Oh yeah. That's not going to change _anytime_ soon)

            /Good/

            Duo snickered as he rinsed the shampoo off. "You really don't like her, do you Ryo-Ohki?"

            Quatre tossed out the last of the shell and gave the little, brown cabbit an amused look. "Relena?" he asked.

            "Yep. Conditioner please."

            After handing over the conditioner Quatre found some cleaner and paper towels and started to clean up the goo from the egg. Duo got the conditioner worked into Ryo-Ohki's coat and handed her some carrots to keep her occupied while she waited to be rinsed off. "So, Cat what did Granddad want to talk to you about last night?"

            "Not much, just why I haven't asked Trowa out on a date."

            "Oops." Duo gave Quatre a sheepish smile. "I'm guessing that's my fault, huh?"

            "Yep. If you hadn't brought Trowa's butt into the conversation, he never would have asked."

            "Sorry man. But you really do need to check his ass out."

            Quatre tossed the paper towels away and turned to Duo with a huge smile. "I bet Trowa's butt can't be anywhere as interesting as the dream Heero's having right now."

            "What could Hee-chan be dreaming about that would actually top cutie's ass?" Duo asked as Ryo-Ohki finished off her carrots. Turning on the water he saw Quatre's smile turn mischievous. "What?"

            Grabbing the towel from the table, Quatre made his way back to the sink. "I'm not telling."

            "Not fair."

            "Still not telling."

            "Meanie."

            /Um guys? Really wet, hungry cabbit here./

            "Shit, sorry!" Duo turned off the water and began to gently squeeze the excess water out of Ryo-Ohki's coat. "Cat, can you grab the, oh, never mind." He took the towel from Quatre's out stretched hand. "Don't you dare shake Ryo-Ohki. You can eat once you're dry."

            "I just hope the carrots are enough." Quatre said as he grabbed the bag. Handing a few over to the almost dried cabbit he continued. "Their fridge really is almost empty."

            "I guess we're going grocery shopping too." Duo replied as he picked up Ryo-Ohki and placed her in the basket.

            /Food shopping? I am so tagging along! Why the hell I'm I in a basket? I can walk you know./

            "Two reasons. One, Hee-chan gave it to me for ya. Two," He grabbed the carrots from Quatre and handed them to Ryo-Ohki. "I thought you might want to finish eating while me and Quatre clean up."

            /Food. Gimmie. Who's Hee-chan? Is he cute?/

            Duo's face turned bright pink. "Stay out of my love life fur ball. And, yes he is cute. And before you ask, he is on your do not bite' list."

            /Cause he's cute, right?/

            Quatre snickered as the braided boy tried to deny Ryo-Ohki's accusation. And the matching making starts. I wonder who's going to be worse. Granddad's trying to get me to ask Trowa out and Ryo-Ohki's always trying to get Duo a date.' "Come on Duo. Let's get back to bed."

TBC

_A/N: I know that seeing into someone's dream is not normally associated with Quatre's empathy but dreams can be very emotional. Hence Quatre saw' Achika in Odin's dream and Duo in Heero's. Hope you liked it and thanks for reading._

_Kel___


	5. Chapter Five

**Violets, Braids, and Space Pirates**

Disclaimer:  I don't own GW, Tenchi Muyo, or the random character/planet from Outlaw Star.

Warnings:  slash, het, fluff, angst, violence (eventually), stupidity, foul language, occasional Relena bashing, and my weird attempts at humor.

Rating:  R for swearing and violence.

Cabbit Communication:

/Ryo-Ohki to Duo/

(Duo to Ryo-Ohki)

**Chapter Five: I'm not cute, damn it!**

            The next morning Duo awoke to find Ryo-Ohki asleep on his pillow, curled around a half empty bag of carrots. Pig' he thought fondly as he climbed out of bed. Careful not to wake the sleeping cabbit, he pulled the bag out from her paws and tossed it into the nearby basket. She gave a little snort and rolled off the pillow, falling into the warm spot Duo had just vacated. Stretching, Duo looked around for where he had tossed his clothes after Ryo-Ohki hatched. Finding his pants, he pulled them on and walked over to the window over looking the front yard.

            Looking down he saw Heero and a man with graying blonde hair running down the hill. I guess the old man got the keys. Damn, I really wanted to introduce Heero to Ryo-Ohki, maybe when he gets back from school.' Walking back to his clothes, he pulled out a wide black choker and his wrist braces.

            /I don't know why you're hiding your gems like that./

            "Shit Ryo-Ohki, I thought you were still asleep." He glared at the cabbit as he put the choker on, covering a small purple gem on his neck. "I'll take them off later if it bugs you so much."

            /It just seems wrong to hide them. I mean, you really like these people so why keep secrets./

            "Aren't you the one who told me to keep them hidden in the first place?" Duo replied, locking the wrist braces in place.

            /You were five. It wasn't a good idea for people to see a kid with power gems. You weren't used to your powers yet and someone could have killed you to get them. You're not a kid any more Duo./

            "Fine. After we get back from shopping I'll take them off, but not before that. I don't want people to see them while we're out today." Duo pulled on his tank top, covering the black choker. "You wanna walk, ride in the basket or be carried down?"

            /Can I take the carrots?/

            "Yeah, you can take the carrots."

            /Basket then. You going to walk or port down?/ Ryo-Ohki asked as she climbed into the basket.

            "We're porting to Cat's room and then walking down to breakfast. I don't want to give Granddad a heart attack. Remember Ryo-Ohki, do not bite him. He's cool for an old dude."

            /He must be if he puts up with you. Or have you been behaving?/ she asked, opening the bag to start her breakfast.

            "This coming from the cabbit who bites people daily. If you weren't so cute, you wouldn't be able to get away with half the shit you do."

            /Don't use the C-word. It sucks being small and fuzzy. No one takes me seriously./ she groused, waving a carrot.

            "Where the hell are my boots?"

            /Under the bed./ Ryo-Ohki pointed an ear towards the boots while munching on a carrot. /So do I get to meet this Hee-chan now?/

            Duo crawled under the bed and pulled them out. "You can meet Heero later. I saw him leaving for school a minute ago." He pulled on a boot and started lacing it up.

            /So, did you check his ass out? Is it nice? I know he only made it to the list because he's cute./

            "He made the list because he was nice enough to let us stay here. But no, I haven't checked his ass out. He is strong though."

            /How do you know? You saw him shirtless, didn't you? Damn, I miss a lot when I'm in egg form./

            Duo rolled his eyes as he pulled on his other boot. "No, you little voyeur, I haven't. When he found me yesterday I was passed out. He thought it would be a good idea to bring me back here so he was carrying me."

            /Carrying you? What is this? Some cheap romance vid-novel?/

            Finished with his boots, Duo stood up, giving the cabbit an exasperated look. "I just met him yesterday and not under the best of circumstances. So don't start."

            /What?/ Ryo-Ohki said, going for her best innocent and cute look with a carrot hanging out of her mouth.

            "No match making Ryo-Ohki. I mean it. I barely know the guy."

            /Fine. I'll drop it. On one condition./

            "What?"

            /You ask the old man to get more of these carrots. They're good./

            "Deal. Let's go get Cat." Duo picked up the basket and moved to the center of the room. He faded away from his room and into Quatre's below. Quatre gave an unmanly shriek and fell backwards towards the bed. He slid off and landed on the floor with a thump.

            "Shit, Duo. Haven't you heard of knocking?" Quatre said, rubbing his butt as he stood back up.

            "What was I supposed to do, stomp on the floor?" Duo was smiling and Ryo-Ohki could be heard snickering. It sounded like a several wheezing meows.

            "No, you port to the outside, knock, wait for answer and then come in. It's not funny Ryo-Ohki."

            /The hell it's not. He sounded like a pansy./

            "She's right. You did sound like a pansy."

            "I'd like to see how you'd take it if someone popped into your room without warning." Quatre complained as he grabbed his sweater and finished dressing.

            "I wouldn't have to do anything. Ryo-Ohki would em bite for me."

            /Damn straight I would./

            "She was an obsession with biting people doesn't she?"

            /I do not have an obsession. I only bite the people who piss me off or annoy me./

            "Yep, I think it goes back to some childhood trauma. You ready to head down now?"

            /Hey!/

            "Yeah, I'm all set." Quatre opened the door and led to way down to the kitchen to find Katsuhito. Ryo-Ohki put her paws on the edge of the basket and peered over the rim to look around.

            /Nice. Are we staying here a while?/

            (At least until someone comes for Cat. Granddad seems to think we'll be here a while though.)

            /Take him up on the invite. I like the looks of this place. Plus the food's good./

            (You think with your stomach, don't you?)

            /Your point?/

            As the trio walked into the kitchen Katsuhito looked up from his paper, smiling. "Sleep well boys?" They nodded. As Duo put the basket on the table, Ryo-Ohki hopped out, dragging what was left of the carrots with her. Katsuhito blinked a few times. "I was wondering what happened to those."

            "Sorry about that. But she gets real hungry when she first hatches." Quatre explained, sitting down at the table.

            "Yeah, she'll eat anything." Duo sat down, pulling his braid over his shoulder. "She even ate Cat's gun once."

            "Can I pick her up?"

            "Is it okay with you, Ryo-Ohki?"

            /As long as I can keep my food, I don't care./

            (Pig.)

            /So?/

            "Go ahead. She says it's cool. Just don't drop the carrots."

            As he picked up the cabbit, Katsuhito shot Duo a confused look. "You understood all that? She sounds just like a cat to me."

            While waiting for Duo's answer, he looked the cabbit over. He saw that she was a pale brown and shaped like a small rabbit with floppy ears, except for her face, which was feline in shape. She had pale golden eyes and a small maroon gem embedded in her forehead. And apparently, had a serious love of carrots, since she didn't stop eating the entire time he held her. "She's cute." He said, putting her back on the table.

            /I am not cute, damn it!/

            Duo picked her and cradled her in his arms. As he scratched her behind the ears, Ryo-Ohki started to purr.

            (Face it, furface. You're adorable, even more so when you do that.)

            She stopped.

            /Damn./

            "Well, Duo, how did you understand her?"

            "Umm, sir, I really don't think Duo wants…"

            "It's okay Cat. I don't mind telling him. I was planning on doing it later today anyways."

            "Are you sure?" Quatre asked; his tone slightly worried. "You normally don't tell people about those."

            "Yeah, Cat, I'm sure." He put Ryo-Ohki downed and turned to face Katsuhito. He took the wrist brace off his left arm. As he turned his hand over, a small, circular purple gem sitting right below his palm came into view. "It's a power gem. I have one in each wrist and one on my neck. They allow me to hear Ryo-Ohki's thoughts, amplify my natural talents, and give me a few extras." He put the wrist brace back on and waited for his reaction.

            "Interesting. Are they natural?"

            "I wasn't born with them if that's what you mean, but they are a part of me now. Power gems bond with their user or in this case the user's family. Duo's face was a little sad as he rubbed his thumb over his left wrist. "I got these from my mother, Helen, right before she died."

            Standing up, Katsuhito grasped Duo's shoulder and lightly squeezed in a comforting way. "Why don't you boys go ahead up to the bathroom and clean up? There are a few spare tooth brushes up there for you. We'll head out for breakfast when you're done."

TBC

_A/N:  See the little review button?  If you like the story please let me know.  See you later._

_Kel___


	6. Chapter Six

**Violets, Braids, and Space Pirates**

Disclaimer:  I don't own GW, Tenchi Muyo, or the random character/planet from Outlaw Star.

Warnings:  slash, het, fluff, angst, violence (eventually), stupidity, foul language, occasional Relena bashing, and my weird attempts at humor.

Rating:  R for swearing and violence.

Cabbit Communication:

/Ryo-Ohki to Duo/

(Duo to Ryo-Ohki)

**Chapter Six: Traditions**

**The Nicron System **

            A very unusal ship could be seen leaving the planet of Nicron VI. The outside of the ship was made of wood shaped like two hollow fish tails fussed together. In the center there was a blue oval dome resting on the flat surface where the fish tails met. Its unique design marked it as one of the most powerful ships in the Jurai fleet: Ryu-Oh.

            The inside was also unusual. The entire ship was covered in many different types of plants and the walls were actually made of branches woven together. In the main room of the ship a young blonde woman in a beautiful pink and lavender kimono was watching Nicron VI slowly grow smaller and smaller on the main view screen. Behind her a large log was floating a few inches above the ground. It had a small lavender electronic eye and a red design painted on the front. The young woman sighed as she turned the view screen off.

            "Is there something wrong Princess Relena?" The eye flashed as the log spoke.

            "Not really Azaka. I'm just tired from the marriage negotiations. How long until we meet with Princess Hilde and Kamidake?"

            "Two hours Princess. I have just received another message from Lady Iria."

            "Let me guess. She and Detective Barton wish to know if we've seen or heard from my cousin." Annoyance was clearly heard in Relena's voice.

            "Yes ma'am"

            "Please inform Lady Iria that we have not seen Quatre nor heard from him and will continue to monitor all frequencies until we do."

            "Yes ma'am"

**Earth**

            As Heero came into the house he heard his grandfather's voice coming from the kitchen. Deciding to drop his bag off before checking it out, he headed upstairs to his bedroom. When he tossed his bag on to the bed something squeaked. He moved the heavy bag aside and found a very pissed off brown cabbit. The cabbit bit his hand and hightailed out the door and down the stairs.

            "Shit." Heero looked at the bite mark on his hand, then after the cabbit in shock. At least it didn't break the skin.' Wanting to find out what had just attacked him and why it had been in his room he quickly followed the cabbit to the kitchen.

            Downstairs Duo and Quatre were helping Katsuhito put away the last of the groceries. As Duo was coming out of the pantry Ryo-Ohki jumped on to his shoulder and hid under his braid. Pulling Ryo-Ohki off his neck, Duo glared at the cabbit.

            "What did you do?"

            /I was sleeping and this guy tried to squish me so I bit him./

            "Who did you bite?! Wait, where were you?"

            "In my room"

            Duo looked up to see Heero come into the kitchen, still in his school uniform. He didn't look too happy to see him or Ryo-Ohki.

            "Ah Heero, you're home already. Here, put this in the fridge." Katsuhito handed him a bag and walked past Duo into the pantry.

            The Japanese boy shot Duo and Ryo-Ohki a glare and moved to help put things away. "When this is done I want an explanation."

            (Great, just great. That was Hee-chan, Ryo-Ohki.)

            /Oops./

**qpqpqpqpqp******

            After everything was put away, Katsuhito and Quatre started dinner. Snagging Ryo-Ohki from the kitchen, Heero and Duo went on a walk. To make sure they didn't run in to Odin on their way, Heero took the path to the opposite side of the lake Duo had crashed in.

            "Explain."

            "You're gonna have to be a little more specific than that buddy."

            "What is that?" Heero gestured to the cabbit Duo was carrying.

            /Hey! I am not a that./

            (Don't start. You're still in trouble for biting him.)

            "This is Ryo-Ohki. She hatched last night."

            "I figured that out, baka. I meant, what is she?" Heero asked, climbing over a fallen tree.

            "She's a cabbit. They're shape shifters. Here, hold her a second." Duo shoved Ryo-Ohki into Heero's hands and climbed over the tree.

            Heero held the cabbit by the scruff of the neck while supporting her body on the other hand, trying to make sure she couldn't bit him again. Duo snickered as he hopped down.

            "She won't bite you again. You're on the list." Duo took Ryo-Ohki back and massaged her where Heero had gripped her neck.

            Heero raised an eyebrow at this new information. "She bites people often enough that you actually had to make up a list of people she can and cannot bite?"

            "Yep. Though she usually only does it to protect me or to defend herself. But there are a few people she bites because they annoy her. I think she bit you because you tried to squash her."

            "I wouldn't have if she hadn't been on my bed. Which brings me to my next question. Why was she sleeping in my room?"

            "Good question." He raised Ryo-Ohki to eye level and starred into her gold eyes. "Why were you in his room? You could have crashed in our room or on the couch."

            /You guys were running all over the house putting stuff up. His room was quiet./

            "Quiet my ass. You wanted to snoop, didn't you?"

            /Well…maybe a little./

            "Sorry man. She was being nosey again." Duo gave Heero a contrite grin. "She's been looking out for me since I was little and it's caused her to be curious about everything."

            "How did you understand her?" Heero was looking from Ryo-Ohki to Duo and back again.

            Duo handed him Ryo-Ohki again. He took off his wrist braces and choker and put them in his pockets. "I forgot you weren't here this morning." He tapped the gem on his throat. "They're power gems. One of the things they do is let me talk to Ryo-Ohki." He took back the cabbit and continued walking. Realizing Heero wasn't moving he turned around. "Are we doing the I can't deal so I'll stand around like an ass' thing from yesterday?"

            Heero glared at the braided boy and started walking again. "I'm not being an ass." He was quiet for a moment. "What else can you do?"

            "Well, I can fly, teleport, manipulate my chi, summon certain types of spirits, control fire, and manipulate shadows. Even though it doesn't sound like it, that last one can come in handy quite a bit."

            Heero spent the next few minutes thinking about what Duo had said. Quatre's warning was starting to make a little more sense to him, but he still didn't quite believe it. "Show me." he said softly.

            That stopped Duo. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

            Heero stopped and faced him. "Show me."

            "Like what?"

            Heero shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "I don't know. Something simple."

            "Something simple huh? Okay." He knelt down and put Ryo-Ohki on the path. "Go let Cat know we'll be late for dinner."

            /How am I supposed to do that? I can't talk to him, ya know?/

            "You're smart. You'll think of something."

            /Fine. You owe me for this though./

            (You bit Heero. He's on the list. I don't owe you squat.)

            Ryo-Ohki flipped her tail up at him and ran off. Duo stood up and hugged Heero.

            "What are you doing?"

            "Just hug me back and don't let go. No matter what." Duo looked up at Heero and winked. "What? Don't ya trust me?"

            Heero slowly wrapped his arms around Duo's waist. At first he didn't notice anything, but then he looked down. They were floating about a foot off the ground. "Shit!" he gasped, tightening his grip on Duo.

            "So, anywhere in particular you wanna go?"

            "The lake I guess. There's a small island with a tree in the center." Heero's voice was kind of wobbly.

            Since this was Heero's first time flying with him, Duo took it slow. As he rose above the trees he slightly tilted little by little until they were parrell to the ground. Going at a snail's pace, Duo looked at Heero and started laughing.

            "You know, it's a lot better with your eyes open, Hee-chan."

            Heero's eyes shot open at the nickname, glaring at Duo. "I thought I told you to not to call me that."

            "It got you to open your eyes though. Don't worry, I won't drop you. Try looking down. It's a beautiful view."

            When he finally got the courage turn his eyes to the ground Heero decided that Duo was right. It was beautiful. The hills always looked wonderful during the fall, but the view from the ground was nothing compared to this. From his new vantage point the changing colors on the trees looked like they were melting into each other, from fire-orange, to yellow, to green. He wanted his camera.

            "Can you go faster?"

            "Yep, how fast do you wanna go?"

            "Surprise me."

            Duo got a wicked grin on his face. "As the passenger wishes." The pace picked up until Duo's braid lay flat against his back from the force of the wind. The colors below became a fiery blur. Duo circled the island a few times to slow down. When they landed next to the tree, Heero's legs gave out and the two boys fell to the ground laughing. "I take it you liked that, huh?" Duo gasped out.

            With his laughter finally under control, Heero turned to Duo with a small smile. "Do you think we could do it again? I would really like to get a picture of the hills from up there."

            "What time do you leave for school tomorrow?"

            "Around six thirty. Why?"

            "I can give you a lift to school and you can take that picture. Sound good?"

            "Yeah, it does."

Tbc…

_A/N:  See the little review button?  If you like the story please review and let me know.  See you later._

_Kel___


	7. Chapter Seven

**Violets, Braids, and Space Pirates**

Disclaimer:  I don't own GW, Tenchi Muyo, or the random character/planet from Outlaw Star.

Warnings:  slash, het, fluff, angst, violence (eventually), stupidity, foul language, occasional Relena bashing, and my weird attempts at humor.

Rating:  R for swearing and violence.

Cabbit Communication:

/Ryo-Ohki to Duo/

(Duo to Ryo-Ohki)

**Chapter Seven: Ideas**

**Earth**

            After dinner, Heero showed Duo how to work his Playstation before going upstairs to do his school work. Quatre and Katsuhito joined Duo in the living room. Quatre was finishing his report while Katsuhito paid bills.

            "So, Cat you almost done with that thing?" Duo asked from the floor.

            "Yes." Quatre looked up from his computer to the TV screen. "What is that?"

            "Don't know, but its fun. Take that." Duo said as he slayed another Duke Magi. [1]

            "It's a video game. I picked up a few more of those while we were out today." said Katsuhito.

            Duo turned briefly to look at the old man. "Really? Are they any good?"

            "According to the sales man they are. But I've never played any before." Katsuhito looked around the living room. "Where's Ryo-Ohki?"

            "I think she went off to explore. She said something about checking out the forest." Duo turned back to the game.

            Quatre shut his computer down. "Hey Duo. When will Ryo-Ohki be ready to transform?" Duo ignored Quatre, trying to save Ryu from a Duke Knight. "Duo.  _Duo_.. Duo, Celeste is about to grab your braid.

            On pure instinct, Duo dropped the controller and pulled his braid to his chest. Dropping his braid, he turned to glare at Quatre. "That is so not funny Cat. Your niece is one scary kid."

            "What, are you telling me the great Shinigami can't handle a two year old?" Quatre teased.

            "Not a two year old who thinks my braid is a swing. Now that you've killed me." Duo pointed to the screen where one character was laying on the ground. "What did you want?"

            "When will Ryo-Ohki be ready to transform?"

            "The way she's been eating she should be ready by tomorrow afternoon." Duo turned back around and picked up the controller. "Sweet, I've got a Tonic left. Maybe I can kick this guy's ass after all."

            Quatre rolled his eyes. "Duo, I swear sometimes you have the attention span of a gnat."

**qpqpqpqpqp******

            Outside, Ryo-Ohki was climbing back up the shrine stairs when she heard someone behind her. Ryo-Ohki jumped into bushes and watched the man walk past. Since she didn't know him she ran through the woods back to the house. Phasing through the front door, she ran into the living room and jumped into Duo's lap.

            "Damn it Ryo-Ohki." Duo dropped the controller and picked her up. "What's with you?"

            /Someone's coming up here./

            "So that's a good reason to come running in here like a cat outta hell? This isn't Sicota. I don't think you need to freak me out like that."

            "What's wrong with her?" Quatre asked.

            "She said someone's coming up."

            "Odin must finally be home. I better go warm up his dinner." Katsuhito stood up and headed for the kitchen. "When he gets in, just send him to the kitchen. Thank you for letting me know Ryo-Ohki."

            /At least some appreciates me./ Ryo-Ohki grumbled, pouting.

            "It's not that we don't appreciate you Ryo-Ohki. I love you, you know that." Duo sighed and cradled her to his chest. "This isn't a dangerous planet. You don't need to be on guard all the time, okay?" Duo scratched the grumpy cabbit behind the ears.

            /Fine./ Ryo-Ohki leaned into Duo's hand, purring. /A little to the left. Oo right there./

            "Duo, what in the world were you doing on Sic…"

            Quatre was cut off as the front door slammed and a tall graying sandy blonde walked into the foyer. After putting his coat away he walked into the living room and dropped his briefcase on the couch. He looked at the two teens, raising an eyebrow. "I don't know you boys, do I?"

            Quatre stood up from the couch. "No sir, we haven't met yet. I'm Quatre and this is Duo." He waved a hand towards Duo, who didn't move from his spot on the floor.

            "Dad mentioned you last night, said you were staying here awhile. I'm Odin, Heero's father." He shook Quatre's hand. Turning to Duo, he took a step back when he saw Ryo-Ohki. "What is this?"

            /What is it with people referring to me as a thing? It's rude./

            (I know but at least he hasn't called you cute yet.)

            /True./

            "This is Ryo-Ohki." Eager to avoid any questions about the cabbit, he tried to distract the man. "Granddad said he was going to warm up some food for you. He's in the kitchen."

            He smiled, giving Ryo-Ohki a wary glance. "Well then I'll see you boys after I eat. Then maybe you can tell me a little about yourselves."

            "Sure, we'd love to." Quatre smiled nervously as Odin walked out to the kitchen. Quatre dropped back on to the couch. He groaned, dropping his head into his hands. "My superiors are going to kill me. I am so fired."

            "Cat calm down. It's not that bad. So far only two people know about us for sure and maybe a third soon. It's not like we were caught on satellite when we crashed, otherwise this planet's military would probably be here." Duo shrugged. "Maybe you could add something in your report about diplomatic relations or something. Besides, Granddad and Heero took it pretty well. What makes you think Odin won't?"

            "_What?!_" Odin shouted from the kitchen.

            Quatre shot Duo a worried look. "You were saying?"

**qpqpqpqp******

            Three hours of explanations later a very weary, very confused Odin went upstairs muttering that he wished he had never woken up this morning. Katsuhito followed him after wishing everyone a goodnight. Quatre, Duo, Ryo-Ohki, and Heero, who had been brought down by the shouting, were still sitting in the living room. Duo had Ryo-Ohki asleep on his lap, still sitting on the floor while the other two were on one of the couches.

            Quatre rubbed his forehead, frowning. "I'm really in for it. Commander Kushrenada is going to flip, Trowa's probably going to terrorize some poor rookie, and Iria is going to kick my ass for being so irresponsible, probably yours too, Duo."

            Duo snickered. "Iria wouldn't hurt a fly, let alone her baby bro. And I can defend myself if I have too. I still say you're worrying much."

            "Look Quatre, Duo might have a point. If you put the right spin on this you could pass this off as an opportunity for establishing first contact with a developing culture or something." Heero shrugged as he moved to sit next to Duo. "You should go back through your report and add it in somewhere." Heero grabbed the controller and turned the Playstation back on. Turning to the screen as the game started he added "It wouldn't hurt to try."

            "See, Heero agrees with my idea. Cat just try it, please."

            "Fine, but if I get fired I'm hiding from Iria and Trowa with you. I do not want to be around when they blow." Quatre said as he pulled his computer back out. He set it up on the coffee table and began editing his report.

**Galaxy Police Headquarters**

            Trowa sighed and dialed up Iria's number for the fourth time that day. Come on, pick up.' Right as he was going to hang up, Iria's worried face appeared on the screen. "Sorry to call you so late in the day Iria, but have you heard back from Princess Relena yet?"

            Iria scowled. "Yes I did. She hasn't seen or heard from him as of yet. But I don't think she's really looking either." Iria's expression grew a little disgusted. "I know they don't get along, but she's the only person anywhere near where he disappeared. I wish she would put aside her petty little issues with Quatre and seriously look for him."

            Don't get along?' Trowa shook his head. "I thought Quatre and Relena were fairly close. He always receives invitations to those balls and charity functions she throws."

            Iria snorted. "She does that to keep up appearances. It wouldn't look good if the First Jurai royal family didn't get along with all the minor houses and clans."

            "Well I do have some good news on my end. Yagami should be fixed by tomorrow morning. When Howard heard that Quatre was missing he made it a priority. I'll head out tomorrow as soon as it's done."

            "Oh God, really? Trowa, that's great news." Iria smiled at him. "Do you think you'll find him?"

            "I can go directly to the same area he was headed to so I have a better chance than Princess Relena does." Trowa looked down at his watch. "I better let you go. I told Howard I'd help with some of the repairs before I left for the night. I promise when I find him I'll have him call you."

            "Thank you Trowa. Good night."

            "Good night." Trowa cut the call. As he was leaving his office he thought about what Iria had just told him. Damn it. I may owe Quatre an apology for all those times I accused him of abusing his family's connections.'

**Earth**

            The next morning around six, Duo left a still sleeping Ryo-Ohki in Quatre's room and set off to meet Heero on the shrine stairs. He found Heero halfway down, sitting on the steps, putting film into his camera.

            "Is there a reason you go to school this early?" Duo yawned, stretching.

            "It's an hour long bus ride into town. You think anyone would get up this early unless they had too?" Heero stood up. As he was about to put on his backpack Duo stopped him.

            "You might want to leave that here for now. If you're going to be taking pictures I'll have to carry you from behind."

            Heero dropped his bag and gave Duo a look. "You better not drop me."

            "I didn't drop you last night and I won't drop you today." At the other boy's skeptical look, he sighed and ran a hand through his bangs. "Look, flying is a mind skill, an extension of my telekinesis. I do need contact to fly with someone, preferably a lot of contact, but I'm not holding them up with just my physical strength alone. So, are you going turn around and trust me?"

            When Heero turned around, Duo walked down a few steps and wrapped his arms around Heero's chest. He lifted them up into the air, tilting them down so Heero was facing the ground. "Where to first?"

            "The lake, please. I want to get a picture of it at sunrise."

**qpqpqpqpqpq******

            Quatre and Katsuhito were talking in the living room when Duo got back from taking Heero to school. Ryo-Ohki was in Quatre's lap going through another bag of carrots, occasionally giving a meow or hiss to express her opinions. When Duo walked in Ryo-Ohki dropped the carrots and ran over to him.

            /Did you check his ass out while you two were flying?/ she asked when Duo picked her up.

            (Ryo-Ohki!) Duo scowled at the cabbit in his arms. (Are sex and food all you think about?)

            /What else is there? But since you didn't answer my question I know you did. Was it nice?/

            "I'm not answering that question, you little pervert." Duo replied, his checks turning pink. Looking up from the cabbit he saw Quatre and Katsuhito were starring at him. "Umm, hi. I'm back."

            Katsuhito chuckled and stood up. "We noticed. I'm going to head up to the shrine now." He walked past Duo towards the door. "Quatre, I think you should talk to Duo about your idea. I'll see you boys later." he said as he shut the door.

            "What idea, Cat?"

            "Come sit down and I'll tell you." As Duo moved to the floor Quatre stopped him. "Up here on the couch. I don't want to compete with that game for your attention."

            Duo sat down, facing the blonde. "So, what's your idea?" Duo asked, handing Ryo-Ohki her carrots.

            "You know how you and Heero had the idea of playing this off as an opportunity?" At Duo's nod, he continued. "What do you think of staying here, permanently?" Quatre was looking at his hands, fidgeting.

            "You mean live here? With Heero and Granddad?"

            "Yes. See, I took your idea and changed it a bit. I added in a few things about damage control and maybe having a patrol ship here to prevent any more accidental interaction with the locals." He looked up at Duo, blushing slightly in embarrassment. "I also added in that you would be staying here; and since we can't really keep you locked up that it might be a good idea to have someone here to keep you out of trouble. What do you think? Granddad did say we could stay here as long as like."

            Duo's face lit up. "I think that's a great idea. As long as you're the one assigned out here. I do not want Une or someone else out here watching me." His nose crinkled at the idea of being watched by Treize's pet agent.

            "I volunteered to be assigned out here. But you're okay with it?"

            "Hell yeah!" Duo hugged Quatre and ruffled his hair.

            "Hey not the hair." Quatre swatted Duo's hand away. "Now that I know you're okay with it, on to more important things." He got a teasing grin on his face. Payback time.' "Did you check out Heero's butt while you were flying him around?"

Tbc…

[1] The game is Breath of Fire V

_A/N:  See the little review button?  If you like the story please click it and let me know.  See you later._

_Kel___


	8. Chapter Eight

**Violets, Braids, and Space Pirates**

Disclaimer:  I don't own GW, Tenchi Muyo, or the random character/planet from Outlaw Star.

Warnings:  slash, het, fluff, angst, violence (eventually), stupidity, foul language, occasional Relena bashing, and my weird attempts at humor.

Rating:  R for swearing and violence.

Cabbit Communication:

/Ryo-Ohki to Duo/

(Duo to Ryo-Ohki)

**Chapter Eight: The Talk**

**Galaxy Police Headquarters-Repair Shop**

            Trowa was wiping his hands off as he looked over Yagami's new air filtering system. Finding everything in order, he jumped down and closed the panels. He went to the cockpit to enter the repairs into the computer and found Howard running one last system check. "Any other problems Howard?"

            Howard snorted. "None that I can find. I still can't believe such a small leak was responsible for killing off all the plants in the hydroponics bay. You want me to call Iria for you while you tell Commander Kushrenada you're leaving?"

            "Please. I need to leave as soon as possible."

            "Alight then." Howard shut the computer down. "I'll have one of the crews put her in the take off bay. She should be there in thirty minutes."

            "Thanks again Howard"

            "No problem. Just make sure Winner comes home in one piece."

**Earth**

            Duo was sketching the island in the lake when Quatre and Ryo-Ohki walked up. Closing his pad, he walked over to where the other two were waiting. "You ready to try transforming Ryo-Ohki?"

            /Yes, but I why do I need to transform underwater?/

            "You can't be seen clearly by satellite if you transform there. We don't want explain our selves to the military or whoever they send after aliens on this planet."

            /That makes sense. Just don't forget to shield me until I transform./

            "Don't worry, I won't. I don't want to give you another bath."

            As Ryo-Ohki jumped into the lake, the two boys moved back a few feet. For a few seconds nothing happened. Then the water began to bubble and rise. The mound of water splashed down revealing four sharp spikes.

            "Which way do you wanna go in, phasing or teleporting?"

            "Teleporting if you don't mind. Walking through walls makes me sick." Quatre rubbed his stomach, face turning green at just the thought.

            Duo grabbed Quatre's wrist and quickly teleported the two inside the ship. Once inside he pointed Quatre over to a crystal that had a small hole and was flashing blue. "You can use that to send you report in. Just slide your computer in and a shadow computer should appear."

            As Quatre was typing in the encryption codes he called over his shoulder to Duo. "Can I call Iria on this thing?"

            "Nope, Iria's too far out. The signal wouldn't be clear enough. You can email her though." Duo said from the chair in the center of the open command deck. While waiting on Quatre to finish he decided to have a talk with Ryo-Ohki. He leaned back and closed his eyes.

            (Ryo-Ohki, I need you to listen to me for a minute, okay?)

            /Sure. What's up?/

            (I know you want me to hook up with someone and me and Quatre staying here is probably sending your match making thing into over drive, but please don't. I really, really don't want you to do anything.)

            /But…/

            (No buts. I'm serious about this. Heero's a nice guy and all, but I barely know him. So no more innuendos or questions about if I think he's hot or not. If I ever do decide to date someone it will be on my terms. Not because you decided they would be good for me.)

            / Fine, I promise I'll stop./ Ryo-Ohki was quiet for a moment. /But what do you think of him as a person? As a friend?/

            Duo sighed. (Promise not to read anything into it.)

            /I promise./

            (He's nice. A little quiet and reserved but nice. I mean, he didn't freak too badly when he found me and Quatre and he handled flying better than Cat did the first time.) Duo chuckled softly at the memory. (Plus, he is interested in photography so maybe he would be interested in other forms of art. It might be nice to talk to him about it later.)

            /So in other words, a possible friend./

            (Yeah.) Duo sighed again. (Thanks Ryo-Ohki.)

            Duo opened his eyes and stood up. Walking over to where Quatre was typing he read the e-mail to Iria. "Tell her I said hi."

            "I will. I checked my e-mail while my report was going through. Apparently she asked Relena to look for me and Trowa left this morning in Yagami to come find me." Quatre shook his head. "The last thing we need is Relena popping up here. Trowa I can deal with but not Relena."

            "I know that Ryo-Ohki and I can't stand Relena because of that time she thought Ryo-Ohki was a rat and tried to kill her but I've never gotten it why you two don't get along."

            Quatre glanced at Duo briefly. "You know all those charity functions she throws?"

            "Those gaudy, expensive parties, yeah, I know about them."

            "Well a couple of years ago I helped organize one. After it was over I calculated the amount spent versus the amount raised. Turns out, she spent more money on the damn party than she managed to raise for the charity." Quatre sighed as he finished off his e-mail. "When I pointed out that she could help them out more by just giving them money and setting an example, she got pissed off and threw me out. We haven't really spoken since." Quatre snorted. "Then there's the fact that when we were little you and I always used to make her the brunt of our pranks."

            "Man I wish I still had that picture of her with neon green hair." Duo smirked. "I never heard someone scream so loud in my life."

            Quatre snickered softly. "I think I have the vid of it on my computer somewhere." He hit the button to pop out his computer. "Remind me to show it to you when we get back. Ready to go?"

            "Yep let's get out of here." Duo grabbed his wrist and teleported out of the ship.

**Galaxy Police Headquarters**

            Treize Kushrenada looked up from his computer when his secretary came running into his office. He raised an eyebrow at her disheveled appearance.

            "Yes Mary?"

            "Sir, do you know where Detective Trowa Barton is? I can't find him anywhere."

            "I believe he left three hours ago to find Detective Winner. Why?"

            "Detective Winner's report just came in. I wanted to give him the coordinates of the planet he's on."

            "Well, send the coordinates to Yagami."

            "Yes sir." She was turning to go when Treize spoke up.

            "Mary, before you do that perhaps you could give me Detective Winner's report."

            She blushed. "Right away, sir."

**Ryu-Oh**

            Relena and Hilde were sitting down for tea when Kamidake came floating in. "Princess Relena, Princess Hilde, I hate to interrupt but we have just intercepted a message from Lord Quatre to Lady Iria."

            "What does it say Kamidake?" Relena asked as she put down her cup.

            "It says that he and Duo Maxwell have crashed on a planet about four hours from here. Should we proceed to the planet Princess? The message includes the coordinates of the planet."

            "Yes Kamidake. Please change course immediately and forward the message to Lady Iria."

            "Yes ma'am."

**Earth**

            Duo and Quatre were viewing the vids from all the times they had pranked Relena when Heero got home from school. When he heard the laughter coming from the living room he went to go see what was going on. Duo was on the floor rolling around laughing and Quatre was collapsed on the couch laughing so hard that he was crying. He turned the computer screen around to find a video of a young girl about seven with neon green hair in spikes chasing what looked like younger versions Duo and Quatre around.

            "Do I want to know?" he asked.

            "That, Hee-chan, is Princess Relena." Duo said, trying not to snicker.

            The video changed to a new scene with the same pair in a pink bedroom filling someone's pillows with whipped cream. Heero turned the computer back around and walked out of the room, shaking his head. Thank God they didn't crash here as kids.'

Tbc…


	9. Chapter Nine

**Violets, Braids, and Space Pirates**

Disclaimer: I don't own GW, Tenchi Muyo, or the random character/planet from Outlaw Star.

Warnings: slash, het, fluff, angst, violence (eventually), stupidity, foul language, occasional Relena bashing, and my weird attempts at humor.

Rating: R for swearing and violence

Pairings: eventually 1x2x1. possibly 3x4x3, eventual 5x? and Rx?

**Chapter Nine: The Arrival **

Since it was Wednesday Heero had spent the afternoon at the shrine helping his grandfather with the chores. They were heading down the stairs for dinner when a large shadow covered the ground. Looking up Heero saw a wooden ship flying down towards the lake.

"Heero head on down to the lake to greet our guests and I'll tell the boys at the house." Katsuhito had a small smile on his face as Heero took off at a run. "I'd better get some sheets for the other bedroom."

**qpqpqpqp******

When Relena teleported to the shore she saw her little sister Hilde was already there, playing with Ryo-Ohki. Relena scowled at the cabbit. 'I know that animal from somewhere.'

"Hilde, do not play with that thing. You have no idea where it's been." Relena quickly walked over to pull Hilde away from her new playmate. She didn't need to bother though. The second Ryo-Ohki heard Relena she hissed and took off down the path to the house. The blue eyed, black haired girl glared at her older sister.

"It's not like there's anything else for me to do." Hilde crossed her arms, pouting. "You didn't even tell me why we came here."

Relena kneeled down to straighten her sister's ponytail and jumper. "We're here because Lord Quatre crashed on this planet. He needs a ride home."

Hilde batted Relena's hands away. "Quatre's family you know. You don't have to use the Lord thing. It's not like he calls me Princess or Lady."

Relena stood up, giving a delicate sniff. "You're too young to understand Hilde."

"Whatever." Hilde mumbled. Turning around she saw Heero come sliding to a stop. Panting, he put his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath. Hilde walked over to him. "Sir, are you okay?"

Heero gave her a small smile, nodding as he stood up. "I'm Heero Yuy. Are you here to pick up Quatre and Duo?"

Relena stepped forward and put her hand on Hilde's shoulder. "Yes, we are here for Quatre. I'm Princess Relena of Jurai and this is my little sister, Princess Hilde."

'This is the girl from the video?' Heero repressed a snicker and motioned to the path behind him. "If you could follow me, we'll head up to the house. They should be there." Heero turned around and began walking up the path.

Hilde eagerly followed Heero, asking how Quatre was doing. Relena just stood at the lakeshore for a few seconds, shocked at Heero's insulting behavior. She shook her head in disbelief at his lack of respect and began to follow.

**qpqpqpqp******

In his bedroom Duo was watching Quatre as he paced back and forth, talking to himself. Ryo-Ohki, who had jumped on the bed to avoid being stepped on, was getting dizzy from watching Quatre.

/Duo, tell him to stop or I'm gonna puke!/

"Cat…Cat…Quatre!"

"What?" Quatre asked, still pacing.

"Stop, please. You're making Ryo-Ohki nauseous and you're making one hell of a groove in the floor. What's the big deal anyway?"

Quatre stopped, giving Duo a half hearted glare. "I just don't know how to deal with Relena. She always expects people to be court formal and to…to…"

"Kiss her ass?"

"Yes!" Quatre ran his hand through his hair. "There is no way I'm going to act like that. I like and respect these people. I will not put on an act for Relena."

"So don't." Duo reached up, pulling Quatre into a sitting position on the bed. "This isn't Jurai, right?"

"Right"

"So don't act like its Jurai. Let's just go down there and be us." Duo shrugged, giving Quatre a mischievous smirk. "If she doesn't like it, we can always prank her again."

"Yeah, but what could we do that we haven't already done?"

Duo stood up, carrying Ryo-Ohki. He pulled the blonde with him out the door. "Give me some time. I'll think of something. Come on, you can hang out with me and Heero while we cook dinner."

Walking down the stairs to the first floor they saw Heero coming out of the living room. He held a finger to his lips and motioned them past the living room and into the kitchen. "Granddad just invited them to stay for a few days. He said something about waiting for a response from your superiors about your report." He arched an eyebrow at Quatre. "What's he talking about?"

Duo and Quatre looked at each other. "It was your idea, you tell him. I'm gonna get started on dinner." Duo dropped Ryo-Ohki off at the table and began pulling salad ingredients out of the refrigerator.

"Granddad invited us to stay so I asked to be assigned out here to keep Duo out of trouble." Quatre smiled at Heero and moved to help Duo with the salad.

"You aren't going home?" Heero asked as he pulled out the steaks and fries.

"Nope, we're staying Hee-chan." Duo tossed Heero a grin while dicing onions.

"Don't call me that baka."

"It's not a problem Heero, us staying?" Quatre asked as he sliced a bell pepper.

Heero turned the grill and deep fryer on and faced the blonde. "I really don't care one way or the other. Although if you stay maybe Duo can give me a ride to school in the mornings."

"I don't mind giving you a lift." Duo tossed the onions in to a bowl and began washing the lettuce. "Now that you've met the Princess what do you think?"

"Which Princess, Relena or Hilde?" Heero asked as he tossed the steaks on the grill. After checking the deep fryer, he dumped the fries in.

Duo nudged the faucet to the other side of the sink for Heero. "Hilde's here? I didn't expect that. I meant Relena though. What do you think of her?"

Done washing his hands, Heero pulled out a salad spinner and put the lettuce into it. "I don't know her yet. Ask me again in a few days. But it is hard to look at her without picturing her with green hair." Heero handed the spinner to Duo. "Just crank the handle and it will get the excess water off."

"Thanks Heero."

Quatre looked up from dicing the tomatoes. "Hilde's here? Why would Relena take Hilde out on marriage negotiations?"

Heero shrugged as he turned the steaks. "You're asking me? Duo can you hand me that loaf of bread?"

"Which one?"

"The one that's not sliced. Thanks"

"You're welcome." Duo began tossing the dried lettuce into the bowl with the onions and green peppers. "Hilde may not end up ruling Jurai but she will have to deal with the same idiots. Maybe Relena brought her along to give her experience in dealing with negotiations in general, Cat."

After dumping the tomatoes into the bowl, Quatre began slicing the carrots. "You have a point, but I don't think Hilde would enjoy listening Relena talking all day."

/Who would?/ Ryo-Ohki gave Duo a pitiful look. /Hey can I have some of those carrots?/

Duo snagged two carrots from Quatre's pile and handed them to Ryo-Ohki. "That's all you're getting till dinner furball. You can have a bowl of salad then."

Ryo-Ohki grabbed the carrots and began munching. /That's fine with me./ Ryo-Ohki sniffed the air. /Duo, Heero might want to take the steaks off. I think they're done./

Duo turned to find Heero placing the bread in the oven. "Heero, you might want to check the steaks."

Heero grunted and pulled the steaks off the grill. Covering them with foil, he placed them to the side. When the fryer timer beeped Heero lifted the fries up to drain. "Quatre, paper towels please."

"Here. Where are the spoons?"

Heero looked up from dumping the fries in a bowl. "Spoons?"

"To toss the salad."

"Oh, they're in the drawer to you're right. Duo can you grab some plates and set the table?"

"Sure." Once done with the table, Duo pulled the bread out of the oven and put it in a basket on the table. "Is everything almost done Hee-chan?"

"Everything's done. And Duo, don't call me Hee-chan. "

Duo blew a raspberry at Heero. "Ryo-Ohki, can you go get everyone?"

/Sure./ Swallowing the last of the carrot, she jumped off the table to go fetch everyone else.

**qpqpqpqpqp******

Hilde was nibbling on a cookie, listening to her sister and Katsuhito talk. 'Blah, blah, blah. Does she ever stop being a diplomat?' Sick of listening to Relena's polite, cautious conversation, Hilde interrupted. "Why does Quatre need a ride? Do you know why he crashed sir?"

"Hilde, don't interrupt." Relena hissed softly.

Katsuhito chuckled softly at the young girl's bluntness. "It's alright Miss. I don't mind." Smiling at Hilde, he answered her question. "Well, young lady Quatre and Duo crashed because they were fighting."

Relena's face blanched. "Duo's here?"

Hilde rolled her eyes at her sister. "Heero said that he was. Weren't you listening earlier?" Noticing Relena's white face, Hilde poked her. "Are you okay?"

Relena smiled slightly at her. "I'm fine Hilde." She unconsciously fiddled with her kimono.

"I don't know why you're nervous. It's not like they're going to die all your clothes black again." 'Though I thought it was an improvement.' Hilde added silently.

Katsuhito looked slightly baffled. Hilde snickered as she explained. "Duo and Quatre used to make my sister the brunt of all their jokes."

"Ah, I see. There's no reason to worry about that any more. I'm sure they've grown up since then." The old man gave the blonde girl a gentle smile.

Relena gave him a weak smile. "I'm sure you're right sir."

Hearing a small meow Katsuhito looked down to see Ryo-Ohki at his feet. "Time for dinner?" Ryo-Ohki gave another meow, nodding and bounced back to the kitchen. "Ladies, if you could follow me, dinner is ready." Standing up he began leading the way to the kitchen.

Relena straightened her kimono as she stood up. She clasped Hilde's hand and they followed the old man into the kitchen.

TBC


	10. Chapter Ten

**Violets, Braids, and Space Pirates**

Disclaimer:  I don't own GW, Tenchi Muyo, or the random character/planet from Outlaw Star.

Warnings:  slash, het, fluff, angst, violence (eventually), stupidity, foul language, occasional Relena bashing, and my weird attempts at humor.

Rating:  R for swearing and violence

Pairings:  eventually 1x2x1. possibly 3x4x3, eventual 5x? and Rx? 

**Chapter Ten**

**Yagami**

            A quiet, persistent beeping could be heard throughout the ship.  After slapping his hand on the alarm clock a few times Trowa realized the sound wasn't going away.  When he opened his eyes he saw the orange light on his view screen was blinking.  Stumbling out of bed, he made his way over to the desk.  Sitting down, Trowa slapped the connect button.  Trowa yawned, giving his assistant a sleepy glare.

            Sam snickered at his superior.  "You know, you're not too scary when you first wake up."

            Trowa yawned again.  "Huh?"

            "You have bed hair sir.  It kind of makes your glare less frightening."  Sam was still snickering.

            Trowa ran a hand through his hair, shrugging.  "What do you want?  It's the middle of Yagami's night cycle."

            "Maybe you could brush your hair." Sam said, smirking at the sleepy man.

            Trowa sighed in exasperation.  "I meant why you called Sam."

            "Oh that."  Sam shuffled the papers in his hands.  "Detective Winner's report came in a few hours ago.  And before you start yelling, I just received it from the commander's secretary."

            Trowa blinked a few times, confused.  "Quatre sent it directly to Kushrenada?"

            "Yes sir.  I've sent a copy to you plus the coordinates of the planet Detective Winner is on to Yagami's main computer."

            Trowa sat up straighter, waking up a bit.  'Can you give me the highlights?"

            "Yes sir.  Detective Winner and Outlaw Class A Duo Maxwell [1] crash landed on the third planet in the Sol system.  They made contact with a local family who has allowed them to stay in their home."  Sam paused, shuffling through a stack of papers.  "Because Maxwell plans to stay on the planet and because no one has ever successfully arrested him, Detective Winner has requested a permanent reassignment to the area."

            "Is there anything else I should know?"

            Sam glanced at the papers in his hands and back to the view screen, wincing.  "You're not going to like this."

            Trowa completely woke up upon hearing that.  "What is it?"

            "Commander Kushrenada is considering assigning you there as well.  He believes having two officers in the area will prevent further accidental contact with the locals."

            "They crashed on a restricted planet?!"

            "Apparently so."

            "What the bloody hell were those two doing?" Trowa snapped.

            "Hey don't yell at me.  I'm just the messenger.  As to why they were there or why they crashed, I really don't know.  That part of the report is vague."

            Trowa pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.  He was tempted to let his anger out on Sam but he decided it could wait until he could get his hands on the real culprit. 

            "Has anyone contacted Lady Iria to inform her of her brother's welfare?"

            "Detective Winner's report states that he would contact her.  Would you like me to inform her that you are on your way to the planet sir?"

            "Yes I would."  Trowa stood up from the desk.  "Thank you for contacting me.  Goodnight Sam."

            "Goodnight sir."

            Trowa hit the disconnect button as he walked out the door, fuming.  'This is wonderful, absolutely, freaking wonderful.  Quatre managed to crash my ship and I'm most likely to be reassigned to some back water, third rate planet in the middle of nowhere.'  Trowa threw himself into the chair in front of Yagami's main terminal to enter in the new course.  Sighing, he realized how far out this planet actually was.  Entering the commands for Yagami to drop a few signal booster satellites he went over his current situation.  He decided the only way to save his career and to get revenge for his totaled ship, which he was sure was the braided idiot's fault, he needed to arrest Maxwell.  'After all,' he thought to himself, 'he's just some kid.  How hard could it be to arrest one stupid teenager?'

**Earth**

            Katsuhito and the girls came into the kitchen as the boys were putting the food on the table.  Seeing Quatre Hilde squealed as she took a flying leap at the blonde.  Duo pulled Heero out of her way, laughing at the young girl's exuberance.  Quatre grabbed the little girl, swinging her in a circle before putting her back down.  Relena watched the scene from the doorway, mortified at her sister's improper behavior. 

            Looking away from Quatre and Hilde's reunion, Duo noticed Relena's unease.  'Someone needs to get her to relax.' he thought.  He walked over to Relena and held out his arm to escort her to the table.  "Ready for dinner Your Highness?" 

            Relena, surprised by the gesture, looked at Duo in disbelief.  Duo rolled his eyes, smiling.  "Don't worry Princess, no pranks or jokes tonight.  Cat and I are on our best behavior."

            Relena took the boy's arm with a murmured "Thank you."  When Duo finished escorting her, she couldn't help put feel somewhat reassured as he took a seat on the opposite side of the table with Heero, Hilde, and Ryo-Ohki.  She starred at the small brown animal.  Startled, she looked up at Katsuhito as he placed a glass of iced tea in front of her. 

            "Are you alright?  You looked a little out of it Miss."  The old man sat down next to Quatre.

            "I'm fine, thank you."  Relena looked back to the cabbit, who currently pulling lettuce out of a small bowl of salad.  "Should that animal be eating at the table?" she asked Quatre quietly.

            Quatre snorted as he put some fries on his and Relena's plates.  "Two things you need to know Relena.  One, never refer to Ryo-Ohki as an animal or a thing.  She is as smart as you or I.  Two, if you tried to feed her on the floor she'd bite you."  He passed the fries to Katsuhito.  "She doesn't like being treated like a lesser being."

            "But...It's…it's unsanitary." Relena stammered.

            Duo looked at the blonde girl, smirking.  "She can hear you, ya know.  If you want to know something about her just ask her and I'll tell you what she says."  He turned away from the blondes' conversation and looked over to Ryo-Ohki.  "How's the salad?"

            /Not bad.  Could I try some those potato things?/

            "You won't like them.  They've been fried."

            /I like other things besides just fresh stuff./  Ryo-Ohki lifted a small bowl of water she was using as a cup, taking a sip.  /I like some cooked veggies and chocolate too, you know./

            "Yes I know.  But this isn't some chocolate desert dish."  He handed a few fries over to Ryo-Ohki.  "Don't say I didn't warn you."  He smirked at Relena's puzzled face as he cut into his steak.  After swallowing a piece, he turned to Heero.  "Do you still want a ride to school in the morning?"

            Heero nodded.  "Yes, if you don't mind doing it.  It would be nice to get a little extra sleep."

            His grandfather snorted.  "You wouldn't need the extra sleep if you didn't stay up all night messing with that laptop."

            He gave his grandfather a small glare.  "Actually, I spent most of last night with you explaining them to Dad."  He motioned to Duo and Quatre with his fork. 

            Quatre, who had been telling the girls how Ryo-Ohki and Duo communicated, looked up at the Japanese boy.  "How was your Dad this morning?  I didn't see him when I came down."

            When Heero shrugged Katsuhito answered.  "He was fine; a little confused still but alright."  He chuckled.  "I can't wait to see his response to our new guests."

            Duo snickered.  "Anyone want to take bets on if he'll pass out at the idea of hosting royalty?"  He smirked at the blonde boy across the table.  "Think we could catch it on film if he does?"

            Everyone but Relena and Katsuhito snickered.  Rolling his eyes Katsuhito shook his head and continued with his meal.  Relena glared at her sister.  "It's not funny Hilde."  As Relena turned to face Quatre, who was asking Heero if he had a camera they could set up for when Odin came home, her voice took on a haughty tone as began speaking. 

            "Lord Quatre," Relena gave her cousin a reproving look, "that kind of behavior is not appropriate for someone of your lineage.  I would have thought that you would know that by now."  Ignoring Hilde's shocked gasp she continued.  "Members of the Jurai royal family do not act so undignified."

            Quatre stiffened as he put his fork down.  As he turned to face Relena his eyes had an odd glint in them.  "Oh shit" Duo whispered.  He scooted closer to Heero and Ryo-Ohki jumped into Hilde's lap to get a little farther away from the blonde's target.

            "What's wrong?" Heero asked softly.

            Duo, chewing his lip, nodded his head towards his friend.  "Just wait."

            Quatre's face was blank as he began speaking to Relena.  "Lady Relena, I have never been a part of the Jurai royal family.  Since I was a child you and parents made it quite clear to my clan that we were not welcome in the inner circle.  In fact, the only time your family has had contact with mine is when you needed our financial backing for some event."  The blonde's expression looked pained and his voice had turned bitter.  "Not only that but you have made my career life hell.  Because of your constant disapproval of my career choice to become a Galaxy police officer I have had to always prove my self.  You made it quite clear to my superiors that you believed me to be an inferior officer.  Your repeated reports and snide remarks to Kushrenada have followed me for the past two years.  He only recently began trusting my abilities as an officer."  Quatre took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down before continuing.  "The rumors caused by your allegations have also caused me to have problems with my partner on the force." The blonde stood up from the table.  Looking down at Relena he continued.   "I have tried to be polite to you for the sake of our hosts but because of your treatment of my family, my friends, and myself I will not conform to your ideas of proper behavior for Jurai royalty or nobles."  He violently pushed his chair under the table.  He made a small bow to Katsuhito.  "If you'll excuse me sir, I no longer have an appetite."  He quickly walked out of the kitchen.

            Duo winced as he heard the front door slam.  He turned to the shocked princess, intending to chew her out for her treatment of his friend.  Hilde, however, beat him to it.

            "That was a stupid thing to do Relena."  The girl's blue eyes were practically shooting sparks at the blonde girl.  "We haven't seen him for months and now you finally had a chance to learn to get along with him and you manage to piss him off in less than a day."  She tossed her fork on to her plate, ignoring it as it bounced off and on to the floor.  "You always manage to let your foolish damn pride get in the way of everything.  You never, ever can admit you're in the wrong, can you?"  Hilde shot up from her chair, dumping Ryo-Ohki on the floor and ran out of the kitchen.  "I'm going to find Quatre" she yelled before slamming the front door of the house.

            Katsuhito had watched the whole scene with a troubled look on his face.  'I knew there might be problems but I never predicted this.'  Sighing, he ran a hand over his face.  "Miss, why don't I escort you to the room you and your sister will be staying in?"

            Relena, embarrassed being dressed down by her sister in front of so many people, was grateful for the escape.  She nodded, standing up.  "I think I'd like that sir."

            As Katsuhito was escorting the young woman out of the kitchen he asked Heero and Duo to clean up.  They began picking up plates and dumping the uneaten food in the trash.  When Duo went to grab Ryo-Ohki's bowl he realized she was missing.  He looked around the kitchen but couldn't find the cabbit.

            Heero quirked an eyebrow as Duo bent down to look under the table.  "Loose something?"

            Startled, Duo banged his head on the table.  Rubbing the back of his head he weakly glared at the other boy.  "Did you see where Ryo-Ohki went?"

            "No, I didn't."  Heero began pilling dishes into the dishwasher.  As he loaded up the plates he thought about the scene a few minutes ago.  Something about it didn't make sense to him.  When Duo dropped his load of plates on the counter Heero grabbed his arm as he moved to walk off.

            Duo looked up at the other boy's puzzled face.  "Whatcha need?"

            Heero crossed his arms as he tried to figure out what was bothering him about Quatre's reaction.  "What set him off?  I know what she said was rude but it hardly seemed like something to cause a rant like Quatre's."

            Duo ran a hand through his bangs.  Looking away from Heero he tried to think of a way to explain.  "Quatre…Well shit, how do I explain this?"

            "You could start at the beginning."  Heero shut the door to the dishwasher and turned it on.

            Duo snorted as he put the rest of the salad and fries in the fridge.  "If I started there we would be here all night.  The beginning of the feud between the Winners and the Peacecrafts began five hundred years ago 'Ro."

            Done wiping off the table Heero pulled out two bowls, spoons and a carton of chocolate ice cream.  "Okay give me the abbreviated version." 

As Duo sat down at the table, Heero slid a bowl over to him.  Duo picked up a spoon and began poking at the ice cream.  "Okay, here goes nothing; Jurai Politics for Beginners 101.  Five hundred years ago the royal line of Jurai died out.  Two houses, the Peacecrafts and the Winners, were both next in line to become the main blood line.  After deciding on the Peacecrafts, to prevent any future conflict, the council made the Winners a minor house.  So the Winners became merchants to support their clan."  Duo paused to take a bite of his ice cream. 

            "They really didn't have a choice.  The Winner clan has always been huge.  Anyways, the Peacecrafts were shocked at…how did the Emperor at the time put it, oh yeah... 'Their mercenary behavior.'"  Duo shook his head in amusement.  "Colin Peacecraft thought that Abdul Winner had done it to shame the royal line.  Colin has always sounded like an arrogant little shit to me."  Looking up from his ice cream, he smiled gently.  "I lived with the Winners for most of my childhood.  The whole clan is way too kind to ever do something like that deliberately."

            Heero took a bite of the ice cream thinking.  "Okay that might explain some small tension between the families but not Quatre's outburst."

            "Yeah, I'm getting to that."  Duo stirred his ice cream around.  "Occasionally over the past five hundred years the clans would attempt to make peace with each other but something always happened to stop it; a duel over some girl or guy's hand in marriage, the Winners being invited to some wedding when the Peacecrafts weren't or the Peacecrafts being invited to some major event when the Winners weren't.  Stupid little things when you think about it.  But roughly sixty years ago it came to a head."  Duo sighed, tapping his spoon against the rim of the bowl.

            "What happened?"

            "A knight of the Peacecraft house, Yosho, was courting Anita Winner.  They were actually engaged, but two months before the wedding Anita was assassinated.  The story goes that Yosho was heart broken that his family would kill his fiancée because of the feud and left Jurai.  The Peacecrafts, not knowing where Yosho had gone, accused the Winners of killing Yosho, which is utter bullshit.  Amin Winner had already accepted Yosho as his son.  Jarrett Peacecraft refused to listen and let the accusation stand.  After his death ten years ago the Winners and Emperor Jabir were finally able to open an investigation into the murder.  They found out one of the other minor families which was benefiting from the feud had hired the assassin and proved Yosho had left Jurai."

            Duo finished off the last of his ice cream.  "But by that time it was too late to undo the damage.  Jarrett Peace-crap's irrational hatred had warped Relena's attitude towards the Winner family."

            Heero put his spoon down.  Still confused, he asked "But what exactly did she do to set him off?"

            "Well, Quatre and I were raised to be, I don't know, I guess more relaxed than Relena.  Titles, formal manners, and court behaviors were only saved for those rare occasions when they were called to court or for major public parties and balls.  Relena, however, was raised to use titles and court formal behavior to keep people in their place or at a distance."  Duo rolled his eyes.  "It's supposedly some big honor if she grants you the privilege of calling her Lady instead of Princess, let alone be allowed to use her given name."

            Heero rested his head on his hand, watching Duo turn the spoon in his hands.  "So when she called him 'Lord Quatre' he took it as an insult?"

            Duo shook his head vehemently, causing his braid swing.  "No, it's more than that.  When she called him that she was implying that Quatre was lesser in rank than her.  No, that's not really a good way to put it."  Duo dropped the spoon into the bowl.  "She implied that in the grand scheme of things that she is more important than him, that her life is more valuable."  Duo shrugged slightly.  "It's hard to explain but to someone like Quatre, who values all life, placing one life before another just because of what family they were born into pisses him off."

            Heero sensed there was something Duo was leaving out but decided to let it go for now.  Looking at the braided boy's subdued demeanor he decided it was time for a small distraction to take his mind off his friend's problems.  He grabbed Duo's hand and pulled him up from the chair.  "I developed the pictures we took this morning at school.  You want to come upstairs to look them over?"

            Duo looked at the bowls on the table.  "Sure but what about the..?

            Heero shrugged, pulling Duo out the door.  "We'll get to them later.  I want your opinion on the photos.  And after that I'll show you how to get past the area that stumped you last night in Dragon Quarter."

TBC…

[1] The GP's top 100 criminals are divided into 5 different classes.  A being the most wanted and E being the least wanted.  Outlaw is a type of criminal, more commonly known as a pirate or thief. 

_Author's note:  If you're interested in the names meanings are Jarrett, French, one who rules; Amin, Arabic, trustworthy, and Jabir, Arabic, comforter or one who gives comfort.  I hope you liked it.  Please review and tell me what you think._

_Kel___


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Violets, Braids, and Space Pirates**

Disclaimer:  I don't own GW, Tenchi Muyo, or the random character/planet from Outlaw Star.

Warnings:  slash, het, fluff, angst, violence (eventually), stupidity, foul language, occasional Relena bashing, and my weird attempts at humor.

Rating:  R for swearing and violence.

Cabbit Communication:

/Ryo-Ohki to Duo/

(Duo to Ryo-Ohki)

**Chapter Eleven**

As Hilde reached the front gate she paused briefly to summon a small light orb. [1] Using the pale green light she began heading towards the lake.  She worried her bottom lip between her teeth as she jogged down the hill.

            'I hope he's okay.  I knew he was fed up with 'Lena's attitude but I never expected him to blow up at her.'  Hilde came to a sliding stop when the path forked.  'I didn't notice this earlier.'  Shuffling her feet, she looked at the two paths.  'The right one goes to where the ship is and I have no clue where the left path goes.'  Shrugging, Hilde chose the left path, figuring that Quatre wouldn't want to accidentally run into the Guardians.  [2]

            Three dead trees and one annoying boulder later Hilde reached the lake.  She looked around, but didn't see her cousin.  Hilde sighed quietly and began to walk on the small stone path by the lake, hoping to find Quatre.  While looking for the blonde she noticed that unlike the dirt path this one was very well maintained.  There were no cracks or breaks in the stones and to the left of the path there were tall, box-shaped bushes between it and the forest.  This puzzled her a bit but finding Quatre was more important right now. 

            The stone path ended unexpectedly facing the lake.  Hilde increased the energy in her light and saw what looked like large stepping stones in the lake.  She summoned another orb and sent it out over the stepping stones.  She smiled to herself when the light revealed that the stones laid out a path to a small island.  She left the second light at the island to guide her.  Hoping from stone to stone, Hilde thought she heard Quatre talking to someone.  With one last jump she landed one the island.  Absorbing the second orb, Hilde walked to the other side of the tree and found Quatre.  He was leaning against the massive tree with Ryo-Ohki curled up in his lap.  She absorbed her light and set down next to the blonde. 

            Quatre looked over at his small cousin, noticing her sweaty appearance.  He quirked a small smile before looking back out at the lake.  "You can't fly either?"

            Hilde shook her head.  "I can, just not very well.  Think Duo will teach me?"

            "Yes." 

            Surprised by Quatre's quiet, short answer, the young girl looked at the blonde again.  While he didn't look angry, he still seemed to be bothered by something.  "Do you want to talk about it?"

            Quatre shook his head, thinking about his angry outburst earlier.  "I wish I hadn't let her get to me.  I shouldn't have lost it like that."

            Hilde snorted.  "Quatre, you didn't do anything wrong.  Scratch that, you did something right."

            "Please Hil.  I didn't do anything but ruin dinner and embarrass my self by losing control of my temper"

            "Bull!"  Hilde twisted around so she was facing Quatre.  Turing his head, she forced him to look her in the eye.  "You stood up to one of the most powerful people in the universe and lived to tell about it.  You, the one person who never has anything bad to say about anyone, stood up to my sister and told her exactly what you think of her."  Once she had Quatre's attention, she moved her hand off his cheek.  "You made her realize that even a Princess is responsible for her actions.  No one, not even Azaka, has been able to teach her that."

            Quatre arched an eyebrow when Ryo-Ohki voiced her opinion of Hilde's speech.  He scratched the cabbit gently.  "You agree with her huh?"

            "Mreow"

             Hilde reached a hand out and began petting Ryo-Ohki.  "See, she agrees with me."

            "True but Ryo-Ohki can't stand Relena.  She'll like anything that involves her getting in trouble or looking stupid."

            The black haired girl smirked as she stood up.  "I think I'd dislike someone too if they thought I was a rat."  She held her hand out to Quatre.  "Come on. I want to get back before Duo starts to get worried and kicks Relena's butt for upsetting you."

            Quatre snorted as he placed Ryo-Ohki on his shoulder.  Grabbing Hilde's hand, he let her pull him up.  "Don't even think about it.  The last time those two fought they almost burnt Iria's house down and they were only twelve.  I don't want to know what they could do now."

            "Then we better get back before Duo decides Relena's kimonos look like a good target." 

            Quatre smirked as he got a truly evil idea.  "Hey Hil, do you want to help us tag Relena?"

            "Yeah, I'd love too, but not tonight.  We need supplies and a plan first."  Not letting go of her cousin's hand, Hilde summoned another light and began pulling him back to the path.

**qpqpqpqpqpqp**

            Relena was quiet as Katsuhito showed her around the house.  As she thought about what her cousin and sister had said she barely noticed as the man pointed out various rooms.  Katsuhito sighed, his eyes sad as he observed the girl.  Relena's thoughts were quite visible on her face.  She was confused, upset, and, not surprisingly, insulted.   He shook his head as he showed her into her room.  'Someone needs to bring home what blondie and Hilde tried to tell her.  And I guess it'll have to be me.'

            "This is will be your room for your stay.  I hope you don't mind sharing with your sister."

            Relena still lost in her thoughts, sat down on one of the beds.  "No this is fine.  Thank you," she replied without looking up. 

            Crossing his arms, Katsuhito leaned against the door and waited for the girl to realize he was still there.  A minute passed as she starred at the floor.  Shaking his head at her self absorbed behavior, he closed the door and sat down on the bed opposite the blonde.  When she still didn't notice his presence he waved his hand in front of her face.  "Earth to the Princess.  Woo hoo, anyone home?"

            Several small floating logs appeared as Relena looked up, frightened. [3] Relena blushed as she made the logs disappear.  "I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to be rude.  I was just…"

            "Trying to figure out how badly you were insulted, right?"  He snorted when Relena almost nodded before she caught herself.  "You and I need to talk about what happened in the kitchen earlier."  He held up a hand as she opened her mouth.  "I'm not going to pass judgment on you or Quatre.  However, I believe you need to hear this.  So please listen for a minute."

            Relena closed her mouth and nodded.  "I will listen to whatever you have to say sir."

            "Yes, I know you'll listen but the question is will you understand and act on it?"  Katsuhito rubbed his temples, thinking.  'How do I do this without doing more harm than good?  It's times like these that I really miss Itsuki.  She was so good with Achika when she was a teenager.'  He dropped his hand back into his lap as he starred at the blonde girl across from him.  "First, you owe your cousin an apology.  Don't interrupt.  I don't know exactly what upset him but what you did say was extremely rude and uncalled for.  No one, and I mean no one, has the right to tell another person how to live their life."

            Relena's eyes flashed with anger.  "But I didn't do that.  I suggested that members of our bloodline should not act that way!"

            Katsuhito was shocked at her denial.  'Oh my God, she actually believes that!' he thought, looking at the proud blonde princess.  "What you said was not in anyway whatsoever a suggestion, it was a command.  There is a big difference.  If you want to make a suggestion, especially one as rude as the one you attempted to make earlier, you do not do it in that manner.  You take that person aside and ask them to reconsider their actions.  You don't tell them, in front of numerous people, that their actions are wrong and you expect them to change just because you said so.  Not only is it embarrassing to the other person but you come off looking like a childish brat.  Also, this is my home.  It is my right to decide what is and is not allowed; and as far as I'm concerned the way Quatre and the others were behaving was just fine.  So your attempt to correct his behavior was not warranted." 

He looked closely at Relena's expression to see if any of what he was saying was getting through to her.  Judging by the stubborn set of her jaw and icy gaze he wasn't having much success.  Katsuhito sighed.  'This isn't going well.  Maybe I shouldn't be so blunt.  But damn it, I don't know any other way to say this.'  Katsuhito closed his eyes and said a small prayer, asking his wife for guidance.  He opened his eyes, looking into the blonde's hard blue eyes.

            "Think about it Princess.  If what you said downstairs was truly appropriate would Quatre have reacted the way he did?  Would Hilde have been so upset with you?"  He did a small mental cheer when Relena's eyes widened in shock at the realization that their outbursts might be her fault.  "They didn't respond that way without a reason.  What you said to Quatre upset them.  Hell, even Ryo-Ohki, who you think is just an animal, noticed what you said hurt Quatre.  That's another thing we need to discuss before I leave.  From my talks with Duo and Quatre I've learned that Ryo-Ohki, for all that she looks like an animal, is much more.  I would appreciate it if you treated her and the others with the same respect you have shown me."

            As Katsuhito stood up, he placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.  When Relena looked up at him he gave her a soft smile.  "Because of your position I'm fairly sure you haven't had many people be forthright with you about your treatment of others, so I am truly sorry if you're offended by this. You need to work on how you relate to and interact with the people around you.  Just because you have power does not mean you can treat others with a lack of respect.  In fact because of your position in life you need to learn to treat all people and their views on life with respect."  He walked away from the girl and opened the door to leave.  As he was leaving the room he turned back to face her and give her one last piece of advice.  "After all, if you don't give your people the respect and love they deserve how do you ever expect to be a good leader for them?"  He shut the door behind him to give her some time to think about what he had said. 

TBC…

[1] Everyone's powers and abilities are different. Duo and Relena are very powerful in both mental (teleportation, telekinetic, etc) abilities and chi manipulation, Quatre's talents are mostly mental, and Hilde has few mental abilities but is extremely powerful with her chi.  However, how they are able to use their talents differs based on the personality and needs of the wielder. 

[2] The Guardians are Azaka and Kamidake, the floating logs from earlier.  Unlike the guardians from TU who were mainly Ayeka's (Relena) protectors/servants, here Azaka is in charge of Relena's care and Kamidake is in charge of Hilde's.

[3] While all Jurai nobles get their power from the Jurai trees, the main royal line of Jurai can use the Jurai trees as a source of power.  These small logs, which are roughly the size of a soda can, taken from branches of these trees are used for numerous types of shields/barriers.  The shields can be used to attack or defend.  Five hundred years ago when the Winner's were made a minor noble house they were stripped of their ability to call on a large portion of this energy.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Violets, Braids, and Space Pirates**

Disclaimer:  I don't own GW, Tenchi Muyo, or the random character/planet from Outlaw Star.

Warnings:  slash, het, fluff, angst, violence (eventually), stupidity, foul language, occasional Relena bashing, and my weird attempts at humor.

Rating:  R for swearing and violence.

Cabbit Communication:

/Ryo-Ohki to Duo/

(Duo to Ryo-Ohki)

**Chapter Twelve**

**Galaxy Police Headquarters**

Report Identification Number:  57489735-E

Appendix C-89a

Talents and Abilities [1]

Heero Yuy:  currently unknown, great potential present

Duo Maxwell: 

Mental talents:  telekinetic (flying, shielding; defensive and environmental containment, floating, manipulation of objects), teleport (long or short distances, through walls, only to places he's been before or has a current visual of), telepathic (with Ryo-Ohki or someone he has given a gem [2], can also be used to check for locations of others; mainly used when teleporting to an area with a large population).

Chi Manipulation:  control fire, spirit summoning (all nature sprites-specialty fire sprites), turn fire or electricity into energy weapons by combining them with his chi, start fires with his chi energy, calling and controlling shadows (weapons, clothes, concealment, various tools), using chi to form weapons (extremely talented), shielding (used to block chi weapon fire or to attack and subdue opponents), healing (on himself near fatal or fatal wounds, on others minor wounds. example: sucking chest wound vs. a broken finger)

Trowa Barton:  currently unknown, minor potential present

Quatre Winner: 

Mental talents:  telekinetic (shielding only), empathic (can sense others emotions, influence others emotions, and can be combined with a latent telepathic ability to see or observe someone's dreams; usually if the dream is highly emotionally charged), can detect potential in others.

Chi Manipulation:  healing (himself only and only minor wounds), lights (weak, can only last for a short periods of time), chi weapons (minor talent, only known to use in severely dangerous situations).

Katsuhito Masaki:  currently unknown, average potential present

Odin Yuy:  N/A

Relena Peacecraft:

Mental talents:  teleportation (to anywhere close by with out a visual or previous encounter, great distances-must have prior experience with the area), mildly telepathic (picks up vague thoughts or intentions), mildly telekinetic (manipulation of objects only).

Chi Manipulation:  lights, shielding (against chi weapon fire), weapons (weak, potential for minor improvement), healing (can heal herself and others of near fatal wounds however is extremely tiring), can summon and control large or small amounts of water, summons spirits (nature sprites-earth and water)

Jurai:  healing of plants, mild precognitive abilities (focused on Jurai's population), rapid increase of plant growth, shielding using the trees of Jurai (can be offensive or defensive), can call upon the powers of the throne (only used in dire emergencies). [3]

Hilde Peacecraft:

Mental talents:  strong telekinetic (flying, manipulation of objects, potential for increased talent; lacks control), teleportation (short distances only), mildly empathic (picks up others emotions, passive only)

Chi Manipulation:  healing (can heal all wounds on herself or others, does not tire easily), conversion ability (converts chi into life force energy for all forms of life, allows for healing of any creature, plant, or person, similar to previous ability however it is not reliable.), transformation (can change the color or structure of any item), lights (can summon large or small amounts of light, no known limit), control of wind/air, control of earth, chi weapons (average talent, potential for much greater talent), shielding (against chi weapon fire, potential for improvement), summons spirits (nature sprites-mainly air and earth), can cast realistic illusions (physical, auditory, and visual).

Jurai:  mildly empathic (only for the people of Jurai, active and passive), communicate with plants and animals, healing of plants, shielding (defensive only). [4]

            Treize's face blanched as he read through Une's evaluation of the situation in the Sol system.  The psyche reports pieced together from Detective Winner's report plus various other documents had been mildly frightening.  They had shown an almost certain possibility of several, explosive conflicts.  But when combined with the known powers of four people plus three of unknown talent, all residing in one house, it was a heart attack in the making.  However, there was nothing he could do to stop it from happening.  Emperor Jabir had informed him that his daughter would be staying on the planet for a short vacation.  Not only that, but he had publicly backed Detective Winner's request.  Now his superiors were ignoring all evidence of how bad an idea this was and were forcing him to immediately implement Detective Winner's idea.

            Treize dropped the report in disbelief.  "This has bang bad idea bang written bang all bang over it!"  bang "My God, bang what bang is he bang thinking?!" bang

            "Sir, what in the hell are you doing?!"  Mary came running into the office, stopping when she saw her commander using his desk in an attempt to beat himself senseless.

            Treize buried his face in his hands.  Groaning, he looked up at his assistant through his fingers.  "Mary, do you know where Officer Sam Kingston is?"

            The auburn haired woman shot him a concerned glance.  "I believe he has this shift off sir.  Why?"

            "Have him report to my office tomorrow morning.  I have some news for him to give Detective Barton."

            Mary shot Treize one last look as she exited the office.  Once the door was closed Treize picked up the report and looked at it again.  'One black clad maniac plus one hyper active princess plus one blonde prankster plus one spoiled princess plus one perfectionist and, for the hell of it lets throw in one stoic high school student.'  Treize seriously considered fainting as he dropped the report back on to his desk.  'Lord, help us.  They'll either drive each other insane or blow up the damn planet.'

**Earth**

            Hilde rolled over to face her sister.  Opening one eye she glanced at the sleeping blonde girl.  Relena was curled into a small ball on the bed; her blonde hair fluttering across her face as she snored softly.  'Eyes closed. Check.  Snoring and snorting.  Check.'  The young princess slowly sat up, swinging her feet to the floor.  Hilde winced when the bed made a loud squeak as she stood up.  She shot her sister a glance as she pulled the pillows Duo had given her out from underneath the bed.  'That girl can sleep through anything,' she thought as she punched, fluffed, and shaped the pillows to look like a sleeping body.  Pulling the blanket up over the pillows, she cast a small illusion to make the pillows to look like her exact double. 

            Tip toeing to the door, Hilde smacked herself on the head.  'Doh!  It's not realistic if you can't hear it.'  Turning around to face the pillow body, she cast another illusion.  When the pillows began to snore softly in harmony with Relena she continued out of the room, closing the door behind her.  She paused briefly when the door clicked shut.  Not hearing anything from the rest of the house she took two steps across the hall and quietly taped on Quatre's door.  She bounced on the balls of her feet, waiting for the door to open.  When nothing happened, she tried to turn the knob.  Growling softly at the locked door, she tapped again.  This time someone on the other side tapped out the same rhythm.  She tapped a little louder in response.  She blew her bangs out of her face when they tapped back at her, snickering.

            "Duo, if you don't open this door right now I'm going back to bed.  It's after midnight already and I have to go shopping with my sister and Granddad tomorrow!" She hissed softly.

            The door opened and Duo stuck his head out.  After glancing up and down the hall he waved Hilde in.  After looking out the door one last time, he closed it and turned the lock.  He bounced over to the bed where Hilde and Quatre were already sitting.  Plopping down next to Hilde, he pulled his legs underneath him, giving his partners in crime a mischievous smirk.  "Any ideas?"

            "We've done whipped cream, fake dead animals, dye, hair remover, paint, exploding food…"  Quatre ticked off each item on an imaginary clipboard. 

            "The tools don't matter Cat.  It's how they're used."  Hilde twirled a strand of hair around her fingers.  "But the paint is out.  We can't do any property damage."

            Duo nodded.  "No exploding food either.  It's a bitch to clean up."

            "What about glitter?  Have we used that before Duo?"

            "Nope, not yet.  We were going to that one time but the guards caught us."

            Hilde raised an eyebrow, looking back and forth at the two boys.  "Is that when 'Lena threw you guys out of the palace?"

            Duo and Quatre traded grins.  "Oh yeah, that's the one.  We had this big thing set up downstairs already so it wasn't that big a deal."

            Quatre's eyes lit up.  "Maybe we could do what we didn't get a chance to that night."

            "What were you going to do?" 

            Quatre gave his cousin an angelic smile.  "Nothing much, just replace her new ball gown with a specially made version."

            "And that involves glitter how?"

            Duo shook his head grinning.  "Naw, the gown was just see-through in the right light.  The glitter glue combo was for her hair."

            "And body wash.  Don't forget that."

            Hilde tilted her head to the side, confused.  "But I remember that dress."

            "Well, she put the ball off a few days to clear all the pranks out.  So, two days later Cat, Iria, and I came back.  We didn't do the glitter but we did switch the dress.  Iria refused to throw it out."

            "You do realize that if Relena ever gets concrete proof that it was you two you guys are going to be in deep shit, right?"

            Quatre snorted.  "Who do you think got Duo bumped up from a class E to class A?  She knows she just can't prove it."

            Duo waved his hand in a dismissive gesture.  "Eh, it's not that big a deal.  In two months I'm clear of all charges."  Duo smiled sweetly.  "The joys of turning seventeen."

            Hilde clapped her hand softly.  "Back on track.  We need to plan this out."

            Quatre and Duo shared a look.  Duo smiled at Hilde.  "Well, we do need you to pick up a few things tomorrow."

            "Here."  Quatre handed over a short list of items.

            The young girl scanned the list.  While the hair dye, glitter, and glue didn't surprise her some of it made absolutely no sense.  "Same shampoo and conditioner?  Same body wash?"

            "Yeppers.  You need to get the exact same stuff as Relena.  We need the bottles."

            She rolled her eyes.  "I can make more bottles.  Conversion is one of the few things I'm really good at."

            Quatre smirked at Duo's wide eyed look.  "I told you she's good at this kind of stuff."

            "No shit" Duo breathed.  "Can you make the shampoo and conditioner too?"

            "Not a problem."

            "Hil babe, you just made our lives a whole hell of a lot easier."

            The trio grinned and settled down to plan their attack.

**qpqpqpqpqp******

            Thursday was a fairly quiet day.  The girls went shopping with Katsuhito, Duo took Heero to school and then latter helped Quatre and Ryo-Ohki tend to the shrine and check on the Guardians.  Thursday night was quiet as well, much to Duo's disappointment.  Odin met the two princesses, managing not to faint.  However one thing that should have happened didn't.  While Relena was subdued and quiet for most of the day, she forgot to apologize to Quatre.  The three troublemakers were willing to forgo their revenge if the blonde had even attempted to say she was sorry.  But when Relena followed Odin up to bed without even saying goodnight they set their plan in action.  Quatre grabbed some supplies from the kitchen while Hilde and Duo went up to his room to gather the rest.  Heero and Katsuhito watched the trio snicker, smirk and sneak around the house.  The only thing Katsuhito did was ask them to clean up their mess when they were done.

            As Heero was going to bed, he saw Hilde, Duo, and Quatre exit the bathroom snickering.  Shutting his bedroom door, he overheard Quatre say "…isn't payback, its justice."  As he climbed into bed Heero decided that a) he was extremely happy he had school the next day and b) that he was going to loan Duo his digital camera to get whatever happened on film.

**qpqpqpqpqp******

            The next morning was quiet as well.  Duo took Heero to school and Quatre helped Hilde cook breakfast.  When Duo returned from the school, the three teens, one cabbit and Katsuhito sat down for a late breakfast.   When they heard the shower turn on upstairs Katsuhito snagged Ryo-Ohki and made a beeline for the front door.  While he didn't mind the teenagers acting like the children they were supposed to be, he refused to be in the line of fire. 

            While the shower was running Duo and Hilde ran upstairs to handle Relena's clothes.  Hilde handled the clothes in the bathroom and Duo snagged an outfit for the repair basket as Hilde had named it.  Quatre had the easiest task.  He just had to wait at the bottom of the stairs with the camera and camcorder.  When the other two came running down the stairs he tossed Duo the camera and turned on the camcorder.  While the boys waited at the bottom of the stairs, Hilde sat the basket on the kitchen table.  She raced back to the stairs just in time to hear Relena shriek at the top of her lungs.  

            Quatre focused on the stairs as Relena came dashing to the top, dripping water everywhere.  Her new pale pink and lavender sun dress was now a horrid shade of mustard yellow with puke green and bright orange flowers and her skin was covered in blue and green glitter.  But the crowning glory was her hair.  Duo figured since she liked pink so much that it was the perfect dye for the shampoo.  Hilde and Quatre had decided that black and purple glitter plus a little glue in the conditioner would set it off quite nicely.  The two mixtures resulted in the princess's hair being stuck in a fuchsia pink, sparkly beehive on top of her head.  

            Relena growled and began stalking down the stairs.  Laughing, Duo snapped a few pictures while Quatre tried to keep the camcorder steady.  Hilde giggled as she yanked the front door open and tossed a note at her sister.  She grabbed the two laughing boys and pushed them out the door.  The trio began running up the path to the shrine and far away from Relena's wrath.

            Inside the house Relena opened the note.  "Next time say you're sorry" she read out loud, crumbling the note in her hand.  "That's it?!  Why those miserable little brats!"  Grumbling, she went to the kitchen and grabbed the basket of clothes and supplies to fix her hair.  'At least it's not permanent,' she thought with a sigh as she headed back to the shower.  As she was getting the glue and dye out of her hair she planned out an apology to make to Quatre later.  With her luck something like this would happen every day until she did.

TBC

[1] These are only the powers that the GP have record of.  There are some powers that they don't have on file.

[2] This is an assumption based on general information the GP has on power gems

[3] These are powers that come from the royal trees of Jurai.

[4] Hilde is empathic in two ways.  On her own, she is a passive empath.  She can only sense emotions of those around her.  When she is on Jurai or in contact with a royal tree she can sense or influence the emotions of the people of Jurai. 


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Violets, Braids, and Space Pirates**

Disclaimer:  I don't own GW, Tenchi Muyo, or the random character/planet from Outlaw Star.

Warnings:  slash, het, fluff, angst, violence (eventually), stupidity, foul language, occasional Relena bashing, and my weird attempts at humor.

Rating:  R for swearing and violence.

Cabbit Communication:

/Ryo-Ohki to Duo/

(Duo to Ryo-Ohki)

**Chapter Thirteen**

**Galaxy Police Headquarters**

            "No way!  I won't do it!"  Sam's face was defiant as he faced his Commander.  "I refuse to get yelled at because you made a bad judgment call and can't weasel your way out of it.  You don't pay me enough for the shit I already put up with!"

            Treize slammed his hands on his desk, rising up to stare down at the blonde man.  "Officer Kingston, I am your superior officer and I gave you a direct order.  You will obey it!"

            "I will not obey it!  Barton's already pissed at Maxwell about his ship.  I refuse to make myself a target my telling him that he's now stationed on some back water planet and has to play nice-nice with Jurai royalty.  If I tell him that he'll turn Yagami around just to come kick my ass."  Sam shook his head vehemently.  "Not doing it, no way, no how!"

            Treize threw his hands up in the air as he fell back into his seat.  "What do you suggest I do; e-mail him his orders?"  When Sam's face turned thoughtful Treize groaned.  "I was being sarcastic Kingston."

            "Actually it's not a bad idea.  Rookies won't get terrorized, I won't get yelled at, and Yagami won't need an overall from Barton pulling a one eighty in hyper."  Sam leaned forward, looking eager.  "Just make it sound like his career is on the line and that looking after the Princesses is an honor and I'm pretty sure he'll do it."

            Treize looked hopeful at the idea of not dealing with the temperamental detective.  "You think he'll buy that?"

            "The career thing, yes.  The honor thing, no.  But he should accept the orders with out too much of a fuss." 

            "I suppose it's better than dealing with Barton's temper but…"  Treize sighed as he typed out the email.

            "Don't think of it as cowardice sir.  Think of it as…"  Sam waved a hand, trying to find the right word.

            "Proper allocation of resources?"  Mary supplied helpfully from the doorway.

            Treize's jaw dropped in shock.  "How the bloody hell is this related to that?!"

            "With all the budget cuts recently it makes sense to e-mail rather the phone him," she said with a shrug.

            "Really?"

            "No, but it sounded better then saying two grown men in their thirties are scared of a twenty one year old kid.  Who by the way is only two hours away from the planet Earth, which means you might want to send that soon."  She walked to the desk to drop off some reports.

            Treize glared at the woman.  "You've never met Barton, have you?"

            Mary smirked as she cleaned out the out box.  "Met him?  I used to help Cathy change his diapers when he was a baby."  She rearranged the reports in her arms as she walked back to the door.  "Be sure to tell him Mare sends her love."  Mary snickered as she shut the office door behind her.

            Treize starred at the office door.  "Small Universe, huh?"

            "Yep."

            "We're never going to live this down, are we?"

            "Nope."

            A few minutes passed in silence before Sam spoke up.  "So, you gonna send that?"

**Earth**

            "Hey Heero, wait up!"

            'Not again.'  Heero groaned as he turned around to find Zechs dodging students and teachers as he raced down the hall.  It always amazed him that Zechs never ran into anyone or got his ponytail caught on a locker.  Heero took a step back when Zechs jumped over a girl kneeling front over her locker.  "Lu catch you flirting again?" he asked shoving the door open and walking out of the school.

            Zechs looked offended as the tossed his blonde hair over his shoulder.  "I do not flirt, I converse."

            "Zechs, getting down on one knee and kissing Gwen's hand to say thank you qualifies as flirting."

            "Okay I'll admit that might be flirting, but in my defense it was a last ditch effort to save my article."  Reaching the stairs, the blonde hopped on to the railing and slid down.  He landed on the sidewalk, skipping a few feet from the momentum.

            "What about today at lunch with Miki?" Heero asked when he met his friend at the bottom of the stairs.

            "I was asking if I could borrow her AP history notes."  Zechs adjusted his bag as they walked to the bus stop.

            "This morning with Alaric?"

            "I need tutoring in German."

            Heero shot Zechs a skeptical look.  "You have a B average in that class."

            "And I want an A."

            "Alright, I'll buy that.  What about Alison in our AP Biochem class?"

            Zechs snorted.  "Alison's not interested in the male sex.  She has a girlfriend."

            Heero's eyebrows shot up.  "That explains what she and Nina were doing in the janitor's closet then."

            "You didn't know?!  Man, you really are computer obsessed."  As the two boys passed the park Zechs slowed down and eventually stopped in front of the gates, starring.  "Oi, hottie alert!"

            "Who now?"  Heero sighed.

            Zechs pulled him over to the fence and pointed to the playground.  "He's over there on the swings."

            "Where?  I don't see anyone."

            The blonde thumped him on the head.  "Him, the cute guy in the black.  Damn, his hair's longer than mine."

            "No wonder Lu get jealous all the time." Heero muttered, scanning the park a second time.  His eyes narrowed when he saw who Zechs was talking about.  "What's Duo doing here?"

            Surprised, Zechs looked over at Heero and back to the guy on the swings.  "You know him?"

            "I do have a life outside of school, you know.  I better go see why he's here."  He began walking into the park.  "I'll see you on Monday."

            "Hey, can't I meet him?" Zechs yelled.

            Heero turned around, walking backwards.  "No you can't.  Go home and apologize to your girlfriend."

            "Jerk!"  Zechs yelled, flipping him off before he walked off.

**qpqpqpqpqp******

            Duo was in mid swing when he heard Heero call his name.  Dropping his feet, he dragged the swing to a stop as Heero walked over.  "Hey."

            "What are you doing here?" Heero asked tersely.

            "Grumpy much 'Ro?" Duo asked, kicking his feet to get the swing moving again.

            "Only on days that end in y."  Heero dropped his bag and sat down in the swing next to Duo.  "Now answer the question baka.  Why are you here?"

            "Hilde found an old cookbook and decided to kick everyone out while she tested some recipes."  Duo straightened his legs out as he swung forward.  "So I thought I'd come hang out here awhile."

            "Cookbook?  We have a cookbook?"  Heero rocked the swing slightly.

            "Yes, you have a cookbook."  Duo chuckled as he pumped his legs, going higher.  "She found it in your Dad's study."

            Heero's eyes almost popped out of his head.  "She went in there?!  Please tell me she didn't find his porn," he whimpered.

            Duo couldn't help but laugh at Heero's pitiful expression.  "Don't worry, if your Dad has a collection it's pretty well hidden.  We didn't see it anywhere."

            "Thank God."  Heero sighed in relief.  "Why were you guys in there anyways?"

            "Well, after Relena apologized, she and Quatre decided to go to Ryu-Oh to check for messages and we were bored.  So we went in there looking for something to read."  Duo shrugged.  "Didn't find much besides the cookbook though."

            Confused, Heero looked over at Duo.  "That room is full of books."

            "I know but nothing that interested me at the time."  Duo dropped his feet, slowing the swing down.

            "Well, what were you looking for?"

            Duo ducked his head, blushing.  "Something educational I guess.  I wanted to learn about this planet."

            "Like what?"

            "I don't know really.  History, culture, maybe something on the religions practiced on this planet.  It would help me get a better grasp on how things are here."

            Heero stood up and pulled his backpack on.  "Come on, let's go."

            "Go where?" Duo asked, stopping the swing.

            "The library, there has to be something there that you'd want to read."

            Duo jumped off the swing and hugged the other boy.  Heero looked down at the braided boy, raising an eyebrow. 

            "Um, sorry."  Duo released him and stepped back.

            "Hn."

            "We're still going, right?"

            "Yes, we're still going."  Heero grabbed Duo's wrist and pulled him out of the playground.  Duo choked back a laugh.  "What?"

            "I can't hug you but we can hold hands?"

            "I'm not holding your hand."

            "Close enough."

            "Baka."

**qpqpqpqpqp******

            While Relena checked on how Azaka and Kamidake were doing, Quatre was reading through the e-mail from HQ.  'I guess its official; we've been reassigned.  I wonder how Trowa's taking this.'  He calculated Trowa's arrival time and winced.  'I guess I'll find out soon enough.'  After deliberating for a few seconds Quatre sent his partner a short message giving him exact coordinates and asked him to land in the lake next to Ryu-Oh.  'I really hope he's in a good mood.'  Quatre sighed as he ejected his computer.  Pocketing his computer, he made his way over to his cousin.  Quatre bowed respectfully to the Guardians before facing the blonde girl.  "Ready to go Relena?"

            Relena dismissed the Guardians with a wave of her hand and straightened her dress.  "Yes.  Did you hear from Commander Kushrenada?"

            "Yes.  My partner and I have been permanently reassigned to this sector.  Oh, before I forget, Trowa has a message for you from your father."

            "Really?  Do you know what it is about?"

            Quatre shook his head.  "No, but you'll find out in about an hour."  He held his arm out for the princess.

            "So soon?  He must have had Yagami at top speed for most of the journey here.  We better tell Hilde that there will be another dinner guest tonight."  She placed her hand lightly on Quatre's wrist.  "Ready?"

            At Quatre's nod the two teleported out of the ship and back to the house.

TBC…


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Violets, Braids, and Space Pirates**

Disclaimer:  I don't own GW, Tenchi Muyo, or the random character/planet from Outlaw Star.

Warnings:  slash, het, fluff, angst, violence (eventually), stupidity, foul language, occasional Relena bashing, and my weird attempts at humor.

Rating:  R for swearing and violence.

Cabbit Communication:

/Ryo-Ohki to Duo/

(Duo to Ryo-Ohki)

**Chapter Fourteen**

            Azaka and Kamidake watched as the large red ship landed next Ryu-Oh.  Kamidake's lavender eye flashed as the log turned to his superior.  "Sir, do you really believe he is a danger?"

            "His presence is a possible danger."  Azaka sighed, before explaining, once again, why they should be wary.  "While Barton is typically an exceptional officer, calm and controlled, he is known for his explosive temper, especially once he's been challenged.  And Mr. Maxwell has challenged his superiority repeatedly."  Azaka's eye glowed steadily as he watched Trowa exit Yagami.  The glow faded as he turned to his partner.  "_If_ he and Maxwell do fight you must make sure lady Hilde does not get involved.  Understood?  I do not want a repeat of the Maribo incident."

            Kamidake's eye dimmed in shame.  "Yes sir.  I _will_keep her safe."  He quietly followed Azaka as they floated over to the sinking ship to escort the detective to the house.

**qpqpqpqpqp**

            Heero snorted in amusement as he helped Duo carry his books out of the library.  After grabbing twelve different books on religion, mythology, and Japanese history Duo had wandered into the fiction section.  Five minutes later he came walking out carrying a stack of books that included all five Harry Potter books, The Just So Stories, and several books by Piers Anthony bring the grand total of books up to thirty.  After spending thirty minutes convincing the other boy that he had quite a few Xanth books in his room Heero had managed to get the total down to eighteen books.  Walking down the sidewalk he looked at the stack of books Duo was carrying and snorted again.

            Duo looked at Heero as they turned right to head back to the park.  "What?"

            "Huh?"

            "What's so funny?"  Duo turned into the park they were in earlier and head straight to the picnic area.  Heero shook his head, smiling.  Putting his books on the table, Duo sat down on a bench.  "Seriously, what's so funny?"

            Heero shrugged as threw his bag on the table and sat down beside Duo.  "Just the idea of you reading Harry Potter.  I mean, you can do these great things, like flying and teleporting, and you want to read about some kid wizard.  It struck me as funny."

            Duo propped his head on his hands, looking confused.  "I don't get it.  Why is funny that I want to read about magic?"

            Heero sighed before answering Duo's question.  "To me, reading is a form of escape; a way to get away from things for a while.  You know; experience and do things you normally can't do.  But you're reading about a person who can do a lot of the same things you can do."  He shrugged again.  "I just think it's weird."

            Duo rolled his eyes.  "People also read about things they can relate to."  He tapped a finger on the book in front of him.  "This kid is really powerful, but he has to hide it.  Hell, he can't even talk about it with his family.  I can relate to that." 

            "You've had to hide your talents?  Besides here, I mean."

            "Of course.  You think everyone out there," Duo pointed towards the sky, "has abilities and talents like Quatre's, the girls, or mine?" 

            "Not everyone, but it sounds fairly common."

            Duo put his arms on the table, shaking his head.  "It's no where near common.  Talents like mine or the girls are extremely, _extremely_ rare.  People of Quatre's level aren't as rare but it's still not a common thing to find a level 10 empath Talent.  And that's one of the weaker levels."

            "You said talent like the T was capitalized.  Why?" 

            "You really want to know?"

            "Yes."  Heero put his bag in front himself, crossed his arms on top of it and used it as a pillow.  He had a feeling he was going to be here a while.

            "Okay."  Duo sighed as he turned to face Heero, going into lecture mode.  "Power levels of Talents are varied and people with high power levels are rare, even when you're dealing with thousands of known worlds.  So to make things easier some scientists came up with a way of classifying different power levels. [1] The scale goes from one to fifteen; one being the strongest and fifteen being the weakest.  People who test between fifteen and eleven have extremely weak talents and their abilities are extremely unreliable.  An empath or telepath who fit somewhere in that area would only be aware of vague feelings or thoughts of the people around them.  They could sense a threat but they wouldn't know who or what it came from or who it was directed to.  Talents like that tend to be extremely common and almost every person has it in some latent form.  People who test in these levels with chi abilities tend to have even more unreliable talents.  Chi or life force energy varies from person to person.  Chi Talents in this range tend to see better in the dark or can occasionally produce electrical sparks when emotional.  You still with me?"

            Heero nodded.  "What about people like Quatre?  You said he's a level 10 empath."

            "That's the mid-range; levels ten through six.  Talents in this range have a lot more power.  Telekinetics can shield themselves, Empaths can sense and sometimes influence emotions, and Telepaths can pick up thoughts directly.  Chi Talents in this range can produce lights, heal themselves of minor wounds, occasionally produce weaponry, and a ton of other minor things."  Duo pulled his braid over his shoulder, playing with it as he talked.  "Talents in this range usually also have multiple talents."

            "Like Quatre?"

            "Yep.  Cat is pretty stereotypical of this range.  Overall he ranks as a level 7 mental Talent and a level 9 chi Talent.  Separately he ranks as a level 10 Empath, but he's also a level 12 Telekinetic, a level 13 Telepath and a level 9 light chi Talent."

            Heero shook his head.  "Wait a minute, I'm confused.  Quatre can shield.  That's how he survived the crash."

            "This is where it gets tricky."  Duo smirked.  "See, when you have multiple talents you can combine them.  If you measure each of his talents separately that's how his levels come out.  But if you combine them you can increase the level temporarily.  When Cat mixes his empath and telepathy he comes out as a level 5 Empath.  When he mixes his telekinesis with his telepathy he comes out as a level 9 Telekinetic.  That's how he was able to shield during the crash."  Duo put his hand over Heero's mouth.  "And before you ask, no one knows why it works that way.  It just does."  [2]

            Heero batted the braided boy's hand away.  "What about you and the princesses?  Where are you three on this scale?"

            "We're in the high levels; one through five.  I'm a level 3 mental Talent and a level 2 chi Talent.  In Relena's case she a level 2 mental Talent and a level 3 chi Talent.  We've completely mastered our gifts."

            "What about Hilde?  Where is she on this scale?"

            "Hilde?  Well, Hilde's weird.  She's a level 1 chi Talent but she's a level 9 mental Talent.  Normally people who test really high in one area will test really high in the other but Hilde didn't for some reason."  Duo scratched his nose.  "Sometimes I think she purposely did badly on those tests.  I know Relena flubbed hers on purpose.  Officially Relena is only a level 12 mental Talent and a level 10 chi Talent."

            Heero's brow furrowed.  "Why?  I mean, wouldn't powers like that be considered an asset?" 

            Duo shook his head sadly.  "No, they're not considered an asset.  People with gifts in Cat's range aren't treated any differently than anyone else.  They're _safe_.  But people in my range are considered dangerous."  Duo's voice was bitter.

            "Why?"

            Duo did a mental sigh.  'I should have known he was going to ask that.'  "High chi Talents in my range can save thousands of lives by redirecting mud slides, doing mass healings, sealing hull breaches, or by controlling storms.  _But_ they can also kill thousands by specializing in lethal attacks to wipe out cities or by causing earthquakes and other _natural_ disasters.  Hell, a telepath in my range can kill with just a thought."

            Heero's eyes turned dark and he tapped a finger on the table as he thought about this.  "I would think people would want a ruler who could wield power like that.  It would mean they could protect their people better."

            "Power 'Ro.  It all comes back to power.  While both Relena and Hilde specialize in healing with their chi they can still be damn dangerous when provoked.  Using the Jurai power as a back up energy source Relena could wipe out entire civilizations with just a wave of her hand if she was pissed enough.  Hilde could wipe out planets using the Jurai power.  People get scared when someone has that much power.  Even when they're healers like the girls."

            "I guess that makes sense.  But Hilde?  You think people would be afraid of her?" Heero shook his head, not able to picture ever being afraid of the cute, little prankster.

            Duo pushed up the sleeve of his sweater, rubbing the jewel under his wristband.  "I've seen someone killed just because of their power."  Duo gave Heero a sad smile.  "My mother was a level 1 healer Talent, kinda like Hilde.  She used her gifts to heal people."  Duo stopped rubbing his wrist and pulled his sleeve back down.  He rested his head on his arms and starred down at the table, remembering.  He blinked back a few tears before speaking softly.

            "When I was five years old my mother and I were going to visit Quatre and his family on Altair.  The ship we were on was attacked by pirates.  After the attack my mother and another woman, Urt, were going around healing the injured.  When my mother tried to heal this little girl her father freaked out and attacked her.  He said anyone with that _evil _power wasn't going to touch his _little angel_."  Duo rubbed his eyes on his sleeve.  "He managed to stab her in the heart before the crew could pull him off.  Urt didn't get there in time to save her or the little girl.  Two people who shouldn't have died did; just because of his hatred.  Trust me on this 'Ro, _normal_ people fear people like me and the girls." 

            Duo closed his eyes and fell silent. 'They fear people like you 'Ro.'

**qpqpqpqpqp**

              At the Masaki shrine Ryo-Ohki was lounging in the shade under a bench while the humans around her prayed (the visitors), bickered (Relena and Quatre), or swept up the newly fallen leaves (Katsuhito).  Sighing, Ryo-Ohki tried to block out the voices above her as she thought about her and her human's new home.  'The food is good, the bedroom is cool, Quatre and Hilde are here and they're always fun.  And I _guess_ that Heero kid is decent.  Not sure about that basket thingy he gave Duo though.'  She shrugged, thinking about the evils of the basket.  'I kinda miss riding on Duo's head or hiding under his braid and apparently the basket makes me look cute.'  The brown cabbit shuddered slightly.  'I _despise_ being cute.  Although I can carry food with me in that thing.  I guess that balances out the cute factor.'  She shrugged again.  'The best thing about being here is that Dorothy or Ken-Ohki aren't chasing us around all the time.  So I guess this place isn't _too_ bad.'  Ryo-Ohki scowled when a pink shoe got a little to close to her hideout.  'Well, it's not so bad if you ignore the pink banshee.  Someone _really_ needs to pull the stick out of her ass.' 

            Ignoring the bickering blonds, Ryo-Ohki rolled over and scowled at the now upside down Katsuhito.  'He's a puzzle though.  So far he has been really nice to everyone.  Buying them clothes and supplies that were lost in the crash, giving them a place in his home and he's even welcomed them into his family.  But…'  Ryo-Ohki's ears flopped a little as she watched the priest say goodnight to some visitors.  'Something just doesn't add up with this guy.  He certain that we're going to be here a while, he didn't freak the other night when I fazed through the door, and I swear I've felt an energy signature like his somewhere.  Even Quatre said he felt something from this guy.  But he acts like a null. [3] It just doesn't make _sense_.'  She gave a frustrated sigh as she rolled back over.  'I guess I'll figure it out eventually.'

            Once the last visitor left the sun was already setting.  Ryo-Ohki stretched before walking over to the small shed where Quatre was putting away the brooms and other cleaning equipment.  Hoping for a ride she donned her best innocent look and mewed at the blond.  He smiled as knelt down to pick the small cabbit up.  "Sorry for ignoring you Ryo-Ohki.  I hope you weren't too bored."  Quatre scratched her behind the ears as he began walking with Katsuhito and Relena down with to the house.

            Relena glared at the purring cabbit.  "I don't know how you can talk to that animal.  It's not like it understands you."

            The two men shared a look.  With a shake of his head Katsuhito let Quatre know he had been there, tried that and it was now someone else's turn.  The blond groaned softly.  "Trust me Relena Ryo-Ohki understands everything said around her and to her.  It's us who can't understand her."

            {Damn straight!}  Ryo-Ohki climbed up to Quatre's shoulder and hissed at the blond princess. 

            Relena froze when the cabbit hissed at her.  She starred at the small animal glaring at her from her cousin's shoulder.   For a brief moment she wondered if it would attack her before she realized Quatre and Katsuhito were already turning to take the path to the house.  Running to catch up she reminded her self that it was just an animal and all animals could sense strong emotions.  And she _strongly_ disliked that rat. She shot her cousin a superior look before speaking again.  "I still say it's just an animal.  You and that braided twit give it way to much credit to say it's as intelligent as a human."

            Katsuhito snorted at the girl's ignorance as he walked through the gate.  I'll see you two inside."

            Quatre watched the old man walk off into the house before he faced a stubborn Relena.  "I'm going to tell you this one last time."  Using his 'don't-be-an-idiot' voice Quatre tried to explain the simple concepts.  "Don't piss Ryo-Ohki off.  She is not an animal; she's a _cabbit_.  She knows what you're saying about her.  She _will_ take revenge."  The blond groaned when he saw the arrogant look on his cousin's face.  He sighed in resignation as the girl ignored his warnings and walked past him and into the house.  "At least I tried."  He picked Ryo-Ohki up off his shoulder and cradled her in his arms.  "Just don't do anything to mean to her, okay Ryo-Ohki?" he pleaded, looking down at the cabbit in his arms.

            {I'll think about it.}  She meowed up to him.

            He groaned when he saw the look on her small, furry face.  'It's official.  Relena's a goner,' Quatre thought as he opened the door and went inside.  As he was taking off his shoes he heard voices coming from the living room.  When he and Ryo-Ohki peaked around the corner they shared the same thought, 'Oh shit!'  Quatre quickly ducked back into the entrance way and put Ryo-Ohki down. 

            Kneeling down, Quatre looked the anxious cabbit in the eye, projecting urgency and importance.  "You can find Duo anywhere, right?"  At the cabbit's quick nod, Quatre continued.  "Okay, I need you to do me a huge favor.  Find him and warn him about my partner.  And stay with him and Heero.  Thanks Ryo-Ohki."  He scratched Ryo-Ohki one last time before she teleported off to her partner. 

            Quatre closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself.  Opening his eyes, he stood up and straightened his clothes, pasted his best professional, meaningless smile on his face and walked into the living room.

            "Hello Trowa.  How's Yagami?"

[1] A little extra info here that's kinda relevant but I couldn't fit it anywhere.  The scientists Duo referred to lived roughly five hundred years ago.  The were hired by the Jurai royal families to determine who's family, the Winners or the Peacecrafts, had the strongest powers not including the power from tie to the Jurai trees.  To measure the power of the two noble families these five men developed the system Duo described here.  The Talent Scale played a major role in the council's choice of the Peacecrafts as the new royal family of Jurai.  Another little note, the Galaxy Police don't have access to this classification system since it is a well kept secret.  It is only known to the Jurai royal family, the Jurai nobles, the Jurai council, and the extremely wealthy members of the Jurai court.  If you're wondering how Duo knows about this system Iria had Duo tested after he came to live with the Winner family. 

[2] Duo's explanation of the Talent level system was very basic.  The Scale is a bit more gradual.  There really isn't that much difference between a level 11 empath and a level 10 empath.  However there is a huge difference between a level 10 empath and a level 5 empath.  Just remember, the higher the level the more power you have backing up your gifts.  And the more power you have the more things you can do with those gifts.

[3] Null:  someone who has little or no talent. 

_AN:  Yes!  I finally got it all back up.  Okay I'm off to finish chapter fifteen.   Please review and tell me what you think of everything so far.  _

_See ya later,_

_Kel_


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